The Halfa Who Rocks the Cradle
by Invader Kathy Starsky
Summary: The second story in the WDU series. After offering their help to company in need, both Zetta and Sasha find themselves babysitting. The downside; they have to take care oft heir respective charges away from each other. Will they succeed? Or will their charges get the best of them?
1. Chapter 1

The Halfa Who Rocks the Cradle

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

Chapter 1: Sweet Clover

 _At the KO Burger; Third Person Perspective_

"Welcome to KO Burger. What can I get you?" Jack said dutifully in a polite tone into his headset.

"Yeah I'd like to know how I can get employed at a cool place like this and where will I be in ten years," a snobby male's voice snickered, the sound of a giggling female voice in the background. "And I'd like a side of fries with that."

Sighing in aggravation, Jack retorted, "Please drive up to the window."

Grabbing some paper bags with the restaurant logo, Jack threw in the order that he had familiarized these two so-called customers with. He placed them on the ledge of the drive thru window. No sooner had he done it did a dark colored muscle car drive up and the driver's hand dart out and grab the two paper bags in one snatch before flooring the gas pedal and speeding away, laughing alongside his chick of the week.

"Hey!" Jack shouted in an indignant tone but he knew his anger was futile.

Until…

The onyx-haired boy nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard loud revving, the harsh clank of metal, and shouts of surprise, fear, and rage. He nearly fell onto his rear in surprise as the muscle car was being forcefully pushed back into place by a familiar looking hybrid car.

"Where do you two think you're going?" a low growl came from the ruby and sapphire vehicle, only loud enough for the junior to hear.

Once the vehicle of the two food thieves was right back where they had been in front of the window, Zettabyte stopped pushing but remained in place. A teenage boy got out of the driver's side, slammed the door, and walked over to the passenger side window. The Cybretronian's holoform, Jack knew. The mechling didn't know whether to laugh or groan in disgust.

The passenger was around sixteen or seventeen. Her hair was dirty blonde and had fuchsia highlights. She wore a ridiculously short, shocking pink and electric yellow tank top and he didn't even wanna _know_ what lower body clothing she was wearing, if any at all. She had heavy lipstick, eye shadow, blush, and eyeliner. The jewelry she wore looked too ritzy for someone on a mere drive. And her breath smelled foul of something he knew she shouldn't have drank.

Her friend, the driver, looked just as terrible.

He looked a bit too older than his passenger and even less civil looking. His hair was dark and greasy and his skin was pale but he looked quite menacing and somewhat strong. He wore a worn looking asphalt black sweater and smelled of something that seemed to be equally illegal. In the middle of the two sat the stolen fast food. As quick as lightning, the halfa reached in and retrieved the bags.

"Hey jerk, those are ours!" the driver snapped in aggravation.

"Oh really? I don't see your names on them. And I'm certain that you didn't pay for them. What's wrong? Did your parents realize what leeches they bore and decided to cut you two off before you sucked them dry of their money?" Zetta taunted with venom in his voice. "You should both do yourselves and everyone in this town a favor; get yourselves arrested and thrown in jail permanently. At least you'll get free meals."

Turning away, he walked to the window and handed Jack back the food.

"You're gonna be sorry!" the girl shrieked.

"Gretchen Brent!" a new voice came in.

All eyes fell on a woman stomping towards the dark vehicle. She was mid to late thirties and had short brown hair. She wore a jade green turtleneck and black slacks with black sandals. Her hazel eyes narrowed dangerously at the young girl.

"Oh, hi Mrs. Walter. Funny meeting you here," the girl smiled nervously.

"Don't give me that young lady! What are you doing riding around and snatching things without paying for them? And what are you doing hanging out with that trash?" the woman, Mrs. Walters asked in disgust, gesturing to the driver who looked offended and uneasy at the same time. "You know what? Don't bother explaining. I'm calling your father right now and you can explain it to him while your friend can explain himself to the police. In the mean time, you can think up an apology speech to these two young gentlemen."

No one saw Jack and Zetta trade smiles.

 _Two hours later at the Autobot base: Autobots' Perspective_

"And then what happened?" Raf asked as the older boy retold what happened earlier that day.

"Then the guy lets the cops throw him into the back of the squad car. But only because he wanted to escape the dad's wrath," Jack snorted. "It's strange. Zetta's timing with the thieves was coincidental with the neighbor's arrival. Almost like he knew that she was going to be there."

Arcee smiled as she heard her partner's story. It had been two weeks since the incident on _Nemesis_. While Zetta was still trying to keep his distance from the Autobots, he had been quite friendly with the humans. The neutral youth had become a watcher of sorts for the trio when the Bots themselves couldn't be there.

Just this past Tuesday, Bumblebee had gotten a minor injury during a training session and couldn't pick up Raf from the library. The ruby and sapphire mechling had found the boy waiting alone for his guardian and took it upon himself to give the pre-teen a ride home. The Cybertronian teen had even bought the computer prodigy some ice cream. Although it was uncomfortable for the two of them when the server girl flirted with Zetta for a bit before her manager yelled at her to "stop harassing customers and give them their cones already." Nonetheless, the gesture was thoughtful and friendly.

Last weekend, June had car trouble and Zetta had politely offered her a ride, playing her favorite music and helping her with her errands as well. The Thursday earlier, Miko had forgotten her lunch and all the pizza slices that had been served that day were gone. Fifteen or so minutes before lunch was over, she was called to the office. As it turned out, Sasha, having gotten over some of her resentment towards her temporary neighbor, had called and told Zetta the situation. He grabbed some snacks from a nearby convenience store and Sasha's house before dropping it off at the office. Suffice to say, Miko's goal to associate herself with the mechling had intensified. Even Fowler seemed a little fond of the Cybertronian teen. All the while, Sasha had no qualms with this as far as the bots knew.

Yet, there was discontent among the Autobots. The peacefulness that the young Cybertronian displayed towards the planet's inhabitants was a clear sign that the mechling didn't belong with their enemy. In spite of his pity for the Cons, he had the qualities of a respectable would-be Autobot. Compassion, intelligence, and determination. Surely if they could convince him and even gain some of his forgiveness, the Cybertronian teen would gladly step into their team in a sparkbeat. But that was easier said than done. The Raf, Jack, Miko, June, and Fowler were the only ones with civil ties to Zettabyte and it would be too soon and abrupt to ask them to persuade the young bot to talk with them. Especially after Bulkhead's behavior. The only one who was even close to forgiving the moss-colored mech was the Asian girl and that only was because he was her friend and guardian.

Speaking of the Wrecker, things had changed since the fight. He rarely spoke ill of the younger Cybertronian when his name was brought up. In fact, he didn't utter a word when the kid was mentioned at all. Whether it was because he didn't want to get blown up at by his team mates and leader or he truly felt remorseful of what he had done and couldn't bring himself to speak up when the conversation went to the neutral youth. However, his behavior didn't fit either of the two of options. He was edgy. It was as if he expected to get jump by a Decepticon in the safety of their own base.

Bulkhead didn't tell them why when they asked. When he did, they could tell he was lying. It was as if there was a hidden camera in the base that he only knew about and was forbidden to reveal. He was still his stubborn, headstrong, cocky self when they fought Decepticons and still tried to pretend nothing was wrong when he hung out with his team. But there was a hint of apprehension, as though he was doing all of this without the consent of a person who could take his life in a flash.

Then there was the mystery bot issue.

It was a few days after their encounter with the newcomer that they saw him again. They had found an Energon vein that the Cons had missed in the caverns. It wasn't impressive but it was better than nothing. Not a moment after they started work to get the Energon did they all see him.

The unknown Cybertronian sat just a few feet away, sitting on a medium-sized boulder, arms crossed, and mouth set in a firm line. He didn't seem too hostile, so they had immediately eliminated the idea that he wanted to fight. When Optimus had attempted to speak to him, the porcelain white and ebony youth had lowered his visor low enough and long enough for the Prime to catch bright apple green slits narrowing dangerously at him, causing the larger mech to back away. Obviously he wasn't interested in a friendly conversation.

After a moment, the young stranger said in an low tone, "Get your Energon and get out."

Not wanting to provoke physical aggression from their unofficial overseer, Team Prime got their Energon in less than two hours. Once they were finished, the Autobot leader tried to approach the newcomer again, only to discover he had vanished. Suffice to say, the Bots were left very shocked and unnerved. And that was not the last time they saw him.

Everytime they went out to search for Energon or track Decepticons, and it was near a human populated area, he was there. They could feel his hidden optics fixed on them, daring them to do anything that would cause harm to the non-Cybertronian lives or area around them. It was odd and frightening at the same time. Not once did they speak to him or vice versa, either because they were too busy or they suspected he would give them a nasty reply. They didn't even ask him his name. The children, including Miko, wanted to go with their guardians on missions, if only to get a peek at the newcomer. However, with Miko being grounded, June just barely getting over her anger at the large mechanical beings, and the Bots too worried about how their watcher would react to seeing that they had human youths in their custody prevented this.

All optics and eyes fell on the semi truck entering the base. Transforming into his bipedal mode, Optimus looked at his team coolly.

"How was the meeting with Fowler?" Ratchet asked, turning away from the console.

"It was uneventful as always, old friend," the former archivist reported calmly.

 **[Optimus! Guess what Zetta did today!]** the young scout beeped excitedly.

"Does it have anything to do with the humans who constantly steal from Jack's work?" the Prime asked knowingly.

"How did you know?" Raf asked.

"The man who was arrested turned out to be wanted for many crimes, including what the humans call "identity fraud" and "tax evasion." He's been wanted for half an Earth decade now. Once again, Zettabyte has done our human allies a great civil service," the large mech proclaimed, his voice giving a hint of pride.

"He could do us a greater civil service by joining our team. I need another pair of servos around this base and that mechling's more than qualified," the Autobot CMO spoke up. "And someone to keep the children occupied and out of trouble if need be wouldn't hurt."

"While that is wishful thinking, we must also remind ourselves that we are still in the midst of trying to earn his trust and forgiveness. And we are still trying to identify our unusual arrival," the Prime reminded gently but with authority. "All we currently know is that this arrival aims to preserve human life."

"Yeah, by knocking out any bot who destroys human structure," Jack said, recalling what he had been told occurred between the mystery bot and Bulkhead the first time they encountered the stranger.

"In spite of his aggression, we have to agree that his actions are in the humans' best interest," Optimus spoke sternly, reminding them all of the unknown Cybertronian youth's selfless act weeks back. "What we must do is prove to him that we too care for the lives of Earth's inhabitants and we do not want him as our opponent but as our comrade."

"That is if we get the chance to talk to him," Arcee spoke up, mindful of how randomly the white and ebony mechling popped up.

"I have a feeling we'll get our chance to interact with him sooner than we think," the Autobot leader rumbled, his optics holding something akin to expectation.

 _At the greenhouse; Sasha's Perspective_

"That's enough for tonight, Sasha. Time to head home," Joanne Pryce, manager of the Willowfern Greenhouse said, tapping the Goth on the shoulder to get her attention.

The raven-haired girl, who was dressed in tight-fitting khaki shorts, hair pulled into a loose bun, beige tennis shoes slightly dirty, and a olive green shirt with _Willowfern_ in tan colored words on the front, turned from where she was grinding dead leaves, sticks, and other decomposing items into mulch. The nature-lover dusted her hands off on her shorts as she smiled at her employer.

Jodie Pryce, with her silky graying chestnut brown hair and soft gray-green eyes, was a true environmentalist and humanitarian. Along with willing and diligently running the greenhouse, Ms. Pryce often volunteered at a soup kitchen a few miles away, donated canned goods, old clothes, and freshly knitted blankets to children in need, and was a frequent visitor at the animal shelter and retirement home. She was also big on not letting anything go to waste. She made compost out of any rotten or expired food, kept old rags for anything that needed patch work, crafted things like glass bottles and milk gallons into things like birdfeeders or cases to hold keepsakes. She had even helped with deciding what plants should be included in the greenhouse.

In the building were rows of flowers, from pansies to lilies to even sweet clover. There were even exotic flowers like Amazon lilies and Birds of Paradise. Next to them grew herbs like parsley, witch hazel, mint, basil, and many others. Trees of citrus fruit, peaches, and apples grew in abundance alongside grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Cucumbers, tomatoes, squashes, peppers, chilis, potatoes, cauliflower, beets, peas, and others grew in neat lines as well. All fresh and ready for picking if chosen. It wasn't as beautiful as Terrana's garden but it was lovely in the simple sense.

"Alright Ms. Pryce. Thank you for telling me," the Goth said as she finished cleaning up and putting everything in its proper place. "See you tomorrow."

"You too dear! Be safe."

The moment Sasha stepped out of the warm, lush building and into the coolness of the outside world, a familiar vehicle pulled up in front of her. From the backseat, she saw a small pair of mismatched eyes staring at her.

"Hey Zee, how are you? And how was Midnight?" the nature-lover asked as she got into the passenger side and buckled herself in.

"She was as good as gold," Zettabyte responded cheerfully.

"Mew," the feline mewled sweetly as if to confirm what the mechanical alien being said.

The raven-haired girl laughed as she gently scooped the cat into her arms. When Sasha started her volunteer work at the greenhouse, Zetta started taking care of Midnight to protect her from prying eyes. And took keep her from any catnip growing in the greenhouse. While Terrana may not have minded the small mammal diving into the wild herb in her gardens, the Goth and her guardian didn't want to take chances with Ms. Pryce getting mad if the cat tore up some the Midnight's species' namesake.

"So, what do you guys wanna do now?" Sasha questioned.

"Well, I was thinking we go see Karmaro and Jadeluck," the mechling responded. "During training today, Nephilus told me that they would love if we came by to see their baby girl."

"That sounds like a plan. We haven't seen them in a couple of days," the nature-lover agreed.

It was true. Both male Cybertronian youth and female human teen had seldom seen the spirit of fortune and the spirit of justice since their first meeting. When they did, it was quick glimpses and short greetings as they passed each other. Every time this happened, both could notice that the parents looked to be extremely busy and tired. The strong hint of exhaustion in their optics was very noticeable.

Sasha, having as many younger cousins as she had older ones, wasn't surprised. New babies always brought about lots of work and required more attention than any job in life. And while some people became more pro and skilled with each new child, others still found it to be a tiring instance, no matter how many children they had. It was especially difficult if you had two older children who were the same gender and the newborn was the opposite. No doubt, Karmaro and Jadeluck were trying to make sure that their sons got equal attention and were not falling victim to sibling rivalry. On top of that, they were most likely catering the new addition's every whim to assure that her first month outside her mother's womb would give her a good impression of the world around her.

For Zetta, however, it was a curious display. Having grown up around nobles who would just leave their children with nannies, servants, and caretakers of sorts, he was new to seeing such elegant and proud bots seem so stressed and sleep-deprived. Yet, it warmed the halfa to know that his two older allies were being very loving and doting of their children.

Zettabyte proceeded to turn the gauntlet on his wrist but this time, he pressed on a few glyphs. Nephilus had taught him how to hack his bracelet in a certain way so he could arrive at a certain destination in the Ghost Zone. A moment later, a Ghost Zone portal opened. Picking up his charge and their unofficial pet, the halfa stepped through the portal.

Not a minute passed before the three of them came face to face with a glorious building. It was almost as tall as some of the buildings that existed on Cybertron. But rather than silver, it was bronze and black. There were numerous windows and few had balconies. Some even had small window boxes with exotic flowers and plants. The door was made of strong looking cut-glass with gems around the door frame.

Zettabyte approached the door, setting down Sasha and Midnight to allow them to walk alongside him, intending to knock politely. But before his servo could even touch the doors, they flew open and out bolted two red blurs. Zetta shouted in shock before he laughed.

Vendett and Jinx grinned as they remained sitting on top of the mechling. Both younglings had warmed up to Zettabyte intensely. Their more playful natures had come out and the halfa was now their secondary choice of playmate, right behind their own father. Not that the Cybertronian teen could complain.

"Hi Zee! Hi Sasha! Hi Midnight!" both male children chorused in unison.

"Hello Vendett. Hello Jinx," the neutral youth greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hi guys," Sasha said with a smile of her own.

"Rowwr!" the feline meowed as if to say "hello."

At that moment, the patriarch of the home stepped out. In spite of the tiredness in his optics, Karmaro carried himself with his usual proud and firm posture. A kind, fatherly smile graced his faceplates.

"Hello Zettabyte, Sasha, Midnight. Sorry about the unannounced greeting ambush. The kids got into the treat jar," the spirit of justice apologized with a short laugh.

"It's alright. I don't mind," the mechling said, smiling as he patted the younger males' helms.

"Trust me, I'm use to it. Over fifteen younger cousins, remember? This is a basic ritual at family get-togethers," the Goth chuckled, recalling all the rowdiness she and her older family members endured when the younger members of the Morgan clan and the Cummings clan, her mothers' family, came together.

Midnight mewled as she trotted up to the two young spirits. Vendett carefully picked her up and held her out towards his younger brother. Jinx happily but gently petted the small mammal's head, eliciting a purr from the feline.

"Alright boys, off of Zetta," Karmaro spoke in a gentle but firm tone as he scooped his sons off of the halfa. "Let's go inside so you all can see the baby."

Picking himself off the ground, Zettabyte followed the older mech's example and scooped up Sasha and Midnight before entering the building. The inside of the home had white and soft green walls. Small pieces of furniture and pottery were scattered about. Mainly tables, vases, sofas, and figurines. One figurine that caught the neutral youth's optic was one that looked Cybertronian but had feathery wings sprouting from its back and had its servos pressed together in a prayer fashion. The figurine was white and the eyes were closed. Before the Cybertronian teen could get a closer look, he saw Karmaro already ascending the large stairs. Quickly catching up, Zettabyte began walking alongside the older mech.

Having been training with Nephilus and being no stranger to climbing large regal stair cases, Zettabyte had no trouble keeping up with the spirit of justice and his children. Surprisingly, they stopped on the third floor. Karmaro showed his guests to a specific closed room. The door was a pale baby pink with a white and silver fleur-de-lis motif with golden doorknobs. Very quietly, the crimson mech opened the door.

Inside the room was a combination of cream and lilac with a night sky mural decorating the ceiling. There was a pile of stuffed animals in the corner and the carpet was a warm yellow. The crib was an ebony color with a powder blue mobile consisting of animals and celestial objects carved from gem. And in a mahogany rocking chair sat Jadeluck, holding a rose pink wrapped bundle in her arms.

Sensing the new presences in the room, the femme looked up and whispered with a smile, "Well hello Zettabyte, Sasha, Midnight."

"Hello Jadeluck," Zettabyte whispered back, his voice a bit lower.

"Hello," the raven-haired girl whispered as well as Midnight just gave a quiet mew.

The neutral youth felt a gentle push on his back. Courtesy of Karmaro, urging him and his companions to get closer to his mate. Tentatively, the halfa walked to the spirit of fortune's side. Once he was beside her, the three guests slowly peered closer at the bundle. A set of soft aqua optics stared back sleepily. The infant's helm was similar to her mother and was a soft pale emerald color with hints of black and gold. She was almost an exact copy of her mother.

"This is Clovercharm," the femme said with a smile as she kissed her daughter's helm.

"She's so sweet," the nature-lover said with a soft smile.

"And adorable," the Cybertronian teen couldn't help saying. Midnight purred and stared calmly at the child.

Clovercharm stared at the newcomers for a moment before cooing at them. And for a moment, just a moment, the neutral youth could have sworn that the little one smiled at him. Zettabyte peered behind him and saw that Karmaro was still holding Jinx and Vendett with a smile. For a moment, the mechling forgot the world around them. He forgot the war. He forgot his troubles. He forgot his doubts.

Because being in the Ghost Zone, among friends, he felt at peace.

Well here it is. The first short story in my WDU series. As I said, there will be a long line of stories that build up to a sequel or the equivalent of a sequel. I'm sorry it took so long to post this one. This is a multi-chapter story. So hang in there. Once again, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Triple B

Chapter 2: Triple B (Blood Drives, Baking, and Babysitting)

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At the Cozy Bean Coffeehouse: Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha smiled as she stepped inside the Cozy Bean. The inside of the deep brown building was tan with chestnut colored tiles floors. There were a few nooks and sofas but mostly padded chairs. The employees dressed in brown shirts with beige and, fittingly, mocha brown caps and aprons. All pieces of clothing had the coffeehouse's logo on them. The counter was a pecan brown with glass cases displaying g all the different food items while chalk menus hung above said counter, showing the different drinks and their prices in colored chalk.

The raven-haired girl smiled as she breathed in the scent of coffee beans and fresh pastries. It was Friday and she was taking her lunch break from the greenhouse. Her bike helmet was tucked under her arm as she approached the counter, lunch bag in hand.

"Hey Addie," the Goth called to her friend.

The young Latina smiled as she turned to her friend. Like her fellow baristas, Adalia wore an apron and cap over her dark brown work shirt. She wore her hair up and dark colored jeans as well. What had started as a way to get extra money and something to put on her college applications in the near future had turned into something more. Heck, her manager even the let her come up with new pastries and other food items for the menu. And boy did they sell.

"Hey Sasha! How are you? How's volunteering at the greenhouse?" the culinary protégé asked kindly.

"I'm fine. And it's great! It reminds me of when I use help my grandparents make a butterfly garden," the nature-lover said with a smile.

"Well I'm glad. So what will you have?" the barista asked with a grin.

"Hmm. I think I'll have a caramel latte. And do you have any Surprise Oatmeal Muffins?" the Goth asked curiously.

Her friend winced and gave her an apologetic look as she responded, "I'm sorry, we don't. Ms. Darby got the last one. And she looked like she really needed it."

"Really? Why?" Sasha asked in confusion.

"She didn't say. But you can ask her yourself," the Latina said, gesturing behind the raven-haired girl.

Sasha turned to look where her friend had been gesturing. Near the back window of the café sat Nurse Darby. A half eaten muffin and a paper cup of caffeine sat on either side of her. Her head was bowed down and her arms were placed on the table as she rubbed circles around her temple area. The Goth couldn't see the obsidian-haired woman's face but her actions spoke volumes.

"Okay. I'll just take the latte then," Sasha spoke again, handing over some money. "I'm gonna go see what's wrong."

"You go ahead. I'll call you when the latte's done," the barista encouraged as she gave her friend change and went to go fill the order in while Sasha proceeded to walk over to her classmate's mother.

Once she was directly in front of the woman, she spoke, "Ms. Darby?"

The nurse's head shot up and Sasha nearly jumped back at what she saw. The Darby matriarch's sapphire eyes had slight bags under them and her hair was a bit unkempt. While the nurse was not one to put on excess of makeup, she had always kept her appearances healthy, appropriate, and attractive.

The obsidian-haired woman managed a tired smile as she greeted the younger female, "Hello Sasha. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Are you alright? You look like you lost a lot of sleep," the nature-lover said politely in a soft tone.

"It's that obvious?" the woman questioned with a wince.

"Well yes," the raven-haired girl answered as kindly but honestly as she could. "Does it have anything to do with tomorrow's blood drive?"

The annual Jasper Emergency Hospital Blood Drive was a big event. While Jasper was a humble town, it didn't mean that accidents and other life-threatening issues were absent. Especially when people who illegally street-raced came in after a nasty crash or victims from pile-ups also caused by said racing. Suffice to say, the nurses and doctors of the hospital were highly busy and under a lot of stress during this time.

"It's that and another issue," June confessed. "One of the newest nurses, Becky Ward, was caught stealing from the supply room. We've had a lot of stuff go missing since she came but we assumed it was one of visitors for the street-racers. Frankly, I'm not surprised. She may have acted like an angel but she wasn't. She was snarky and rude with the nurses, constantly flirting with the male visitors and doctors, and she had terrible bed side manners. She once forgot to bring one of our more sick patients their medicine which they strictly need every five hours. Thank goodness the doctor saw her error before it was too late."

The Goth looked at the nurse with utter horror. She recalled all the times she or another family member had to go to the hospital where there was at least one rude nurse but they never did, to the nature-lover's knowledge, anything as terrible or irresponsible as this Becky Ward woman.

"The only people I feel sorry for are Becky's mother and daughter. Both are such sweet people. Her mother is fifty-nine and her daughter is five. Her mother, Rachel, is always looking after her daughter, Jessica, while she goes out partying like some sorority girl and does heaven knows what else. I'm worried that this incident will get out and those poor dears will become pariahs because of Becky's stupidity," the Darby matriarch said with a sigh.

"Well I can promise you that I won't tell anyone," Sasha nodded firmly with a serene smile.

"Thank you. But that's not the only thing upsetting me," the nurse further confessed. "We may have to cancel the blood drive."

"What? Why?" the raven-haired girl inquired asked, this time a bit urgently. "Are not enough people donating?"

"No, in fact quite the opposite. A lot more people signed up for than last year," June said with a slight smile.

"What's the problem then?" Sasha asked curiously.

"We have everything except the cookies for the donors after they give blood. As you can imagine, we're really busy at the hospital and at home with our families. My only co-worker who has free time after work and plenty of baking experience had to go to Massachusetts to care for her sick father and she won't be back for a few weeks. I, with my great ideas, thought that ordering the cookies from a bakery would be more convenient. So my fellow nurses and I pulled together some money to pay for several large orders of cookies," the obsidian-haired woman explained as her tone grew annoyed. "Are you familiar with the bakery, Classic Confections, in the next town?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the Goth said, scrunching up her nose.

The nature-lover was too familiar with the bakery as she had a terrible experience with it. When she and Zetta were driving through the town it was located in. She needed to check the town's library for book she needed for English class as the library at school didn't have it yet and the copies at the town library were all checked out. She had come across the bakery during the drive and, out of curiosity, went in to see what it was like. While the décor was brightly colored and the sweets looked delectable, the attitude of the employees was nothing like either decoration or goods. The staff consisted of bored teen girls who texted on their phones and popped their bubblegum bubbles with loud harsh snaps.

Sasha's server had sneered at her all the while fetching the Goth her pastry. Once the girl handed her the pastry, she whipped right back to texting without so much as a friendly word. And upon leaving, the raven-haired girl had taken a bite of the apricot Danish. The jam was too sweet and the excess confectioner's sugar didn't help. It lacked the crispy buttery crust that Colette's croissants had and it was way too soft, so much that it lacked texture.

An hour later, after vomiting in the library's bathroom, did the raven-haired girl realize that the too-softness of the pastry was due to being under cooked. She had to keep her guardian from driving back and yelling at the employees.

"The owner and baker, Harriet Miller, had to fly to Philadelphia because her niece was being sued by her boss's ex fiancée's mother. She called me last night and told me straight forward that she couldn't make the order. Heck, she didn't even refund us our money!" the older woman declared with an angry huff.

"Are you talking about Classic Confections?"

Both teenage and nurse turned to a young woman in a pale blue pant suit. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and white blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. In her arms she bounced a baby with tufts of blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He wore a light sky blue onesie with a colorful cartoonish parrot on it. On the table in front of her was a frappe and paper bowl of oatmeal.

"Sorry. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation but were you two discussing Classic Confections?" the blonde woman asked before both dark-haired females nodded. "My friend's sister-in-law went there to grab some brownies for her family for dessert. Turns out they gave walnut brownies which she did NOT ask for and her middle son, who's allergic to walnuts, almost ate one."

"I've had a bad experience with that sorry-excuse for a bakery myself."

The female turned to a man who looked to be in his late forties to early fifties. His eyes were hazel and his auburn beard and hair were speckled heavily with gray. He was dressed in a dark gray shirt and dark blue denims. In front of him were a toasted ham sandwich, chocolate fudge brownie, an apple, and a cup of hot coffee.

"My friends and I once bought a lemon cake for another friend of ours to celebrate his promotion. When we ate it, it was dry and way too tangy. It was like eating lemon-flavored dust!" the man claimed with a shake of his head. "Nothing like the sweets they got here."

"Please. You think your experiences are bad?"

The quartet of conversationalists turned their heads. A young Asian girl with black hair that went past her shoulders and her bangs were colored a bright magenta. She wore black shirt with a purple heart that dripped purple drops. She wore black skinny jeans and had a tablet in front of alongside a cappuccino. In her hand she had a cake pop.

"I once went there when I was visiting a friend. I ordered chocolate chip pecan cookies. When I opened the bag, you know what I found? Coconut macrons! They told me they ran out of chocolate chip pecan. I asked why they didn't tell me before so I could pick a different type of cookie myself, they said they forgot. They wouldn't even take back the macrons so I had to pay _again_ for cookies I did want!" the girl vented with an angry sigh.

Sasha stared at the nurse and three other individuals, shocked by their revelations. She snapped out of it when she heard her name being called.

"Latte for Sasha!"

Turning around, the Goth saw that the Adalia holding up her caramel latte and gesturing her to come over.

"I'll be right back," the nature-lover promised the Darby matriarch as she went to fetch her beverage.

As soon as Sasha was at the counter, the barista asked, "So, what's the matter?"

"Ms. Darby and the hospital staff may to cancel the blood drive because of an issue with Classic Confections," the raven-haired girl reported, causing her Latina friend to gap in shock.

"I can't believe it. I know Classic Confections isn't the best bakery in the world but how can they deny a blood drive cookies." the culinary protégé said, before shaking her head. "My break is in ten minutes. Tell me more then."

"Alright. Thank you for the latte," Sasha agreed as she took her caramel caffeinated drink and sipped it, savoring the sweetness. She returned back to her seat and signaled for the nurse to go continue telling her what was the trouble.

"My other co-workers and I don't even have enough money to gather ingredients to bake cookies ourselves. And even if we did, there wouldn't be enough time. The blood drive trucks arrive tomorrow morning to set up and the donors arrive around the afternoon. Not to mention we still have patients to attend to. No one in the staff can risk missing sleep. What if we were so tired that got medications mixed up or mislabel one of the blood pouches? The last time I was up late doing something and tried to operate through the next day with little sleep, my husband and I almost allowed Jack to go to school with a bottle of cough syrup instead of a water bottle."

Sasha blinked in surprise. June and her son had rarely spoken of the absent Mr. Darby. The Goth didn't dare ask what happened for fear of bringing up tears or invoking some sort of anger. In a sense, the missing Darby patriarch had become, in the nature-lover's perspective, an off-limits subject. So much that, in fact, she knew nothing at all.

The obsidian-haired woman sighed for what may have very well been the thousandth time that day as she mumbled, "What are we gonna do?"

Sasha bit her lip, feeling helpless. The cookies were a necessity. The sugary treats would provide an adequate amount of energy to the donors. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist in this time and economy to know that a nurse's income could only provide so much. If the Darby matriarch and her fellow nurses were to obtain store bought cookies, it would take a large portion of money to purchase enough cookies for over twenty people. And store bought cookies were an insult to a charitable event like a blood drive anyway.

The raven-haired girl considered asking her guardian to go search for an appropriate bakery to purchase cookies from but then thought better of it. It would be a hassle for Ms. Darby to explain to the donors and nurses of how she got fresh cookies from a bakery that was in the next state. The single mother didn't seem like one to take credit of another's person, even if it was necessary.

 _Geez, I bet Colette and Adalia's families don't have this problem_ , Sasha thought in frustration.

Suddenly, an idea hit her.

"Ms. Darby, when do you have to get back to work?" the Goth asked.

"In half an hour. Why?" the nurse questioned, looking confused.

"I think I may know someone who can help you," was Sasha said.

 _Eight minutes later: Sasha's Perspective_

"Colette and I should do what?" Adalia said in surprise. It was the barista's break and her friend had taken her outside for a talk. After telling her friend the whole situation in great detail, the greenhouse worker popped the question.

"Bake cookies for the blood drive. You and Colette do it for your families and everyone at school all the time. Plus, it's for a good cause!" the nature-lover encouraged earnestly. And don't you and Colette have the day off tomorrow?"

Colette's own part time job was helping her cousins at their great aunt's candy store. While it was owned by her family, the auburn-haired girl was expected to behave as a model employee. She was given the same rules and privileges that said employees got in the candy store.

"I know it is but there's a problem," the Latina said biting her lip.

"If it's the cost of all the ingredients, I promise you that I'll pitch in to pay for them. My family won't mind," the raven-haired girl insisted sincerely.

"No, it's not that. The reason why Colette and I have the day off tomorrow is because she and I have to babysit Manuel and Claudia. Our parents are going to an old friend's anniversary party but the babysitter who looks after the both of them has to go to her stepsister's baby shower. Not to mention that everyone else in our families are super busy," the barista explained, shrugging helplessly.

Sasha bit her lip again and tried to think. She couldn't let the blood drive get cancelled but she also knew that her two friends were very loyal to their families. At that moment, it hit her.

"I can look after them," the nature-lover declared.

The culinary protégé looked at the Goth in shocked as she carefully asked, "Are you sure? Manuel and Claudia are pretty great kids but even well-behaved kids need lots of attention."

"Addie, you're talking to someone who has more than several younger cousins who she helped the older ones babysit for when she was in second grade and started to look after them on her own when she was in fourth. I can handle it," Sasha promised, her violet orbs showing nothing but pure honesty. "Besides, I'm not doing anything tomorrow. The experienced gardeners are bringing in new plants Ms. Pryce is going to her niece's big soccer game."

After a moment, Adalia gave in and said, "Alright. Let me just call Colette and my parents."

Sasha nodded as her friend took out her phone and went to the other side of the building to speak in privacy. The raven-haired girl crossed her fingers on both hands and shut her eyes tightly. A few minutes went by when she heard her friend coming back. Opening her eyes, she felt like jumping for joy when she saw the smile on the Latina's face.

"My parents agreed. They said they'll give you the full list of what to do when you arrive at twelve o'clock tomorrow. Colette is gonna call her parents and ask them. She should call us back in a couple of minutes," the barista confirmed with a nod.

Less than five minutes later, Adalia's phone rang. The nature-lover held her breath as her friend answered the call.

"Hey Colette. So, what did your folks say?...Really? They're on board? Great!" the brunette spoke to her equally culinary talented friend. "I'll see you tonight so we can start planning on what to bake. Bye!"

"She's on board?"the Goth asked cautiously.

"Yup! She said that her parents are going to talk a little bit more with mine tonight but so far they're on board," the barista said with a grin.

All Sasha could do was hug her.

 _In San Francisco; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte, as Phantom Z, stood angrily before Team Prime, luminous green optics narrowing behind his darker green visor. Not long ago, Nephilus had told him of the Autobots arriving in San Francisco via Groundbridge and had asked Nephilus to transport him there as well. The blue mech had no qualms with helping his student keep track of the Autobots in order to ensure human safety.

Staying in his ghost mode's vehicle form, which conveniently looked very different from his normal alt. mode, Zetta carefully followed the group of four vehicles; a semi-truck, a motorcycle, a muscle car, and a SUV. After a few hours of following them and seeing no sign that the robots in disguise would not cause any trouble, the halfa had prepared to leave.

That's when it happened.

The golden yellow muscle car had hit a puddle near the sidewalk. Some water splashed out and hit a young couple who were unfortunate enough to be near the puddle at the time. The young man yelled out a angry "Hey!" before he picked up a piece of the sidewalk that had long since broken off and chucked it at the offending automobile.

Or tried to.

The throw had been miscalculated and it had ended up hitting the back end of the bubblegum and sapphire colored motorcycle with a loud _CLANG!_ Said motorcycle had braked harshly before backing up ominously slow towards the young man who was now staring with wide eyes and a pale face. His lady friend clutched his arm apprehension.

Not wanting to wait and see what would happen. The neutral youth sped up and stopped just an inch behind Arcee before she could get close enough. Zettabyte gave an angry honk and rev of his engine. The couple took that opportunity to flee.

In a low, harsh tone, only loud enough for the quartet to hear, he growled, "Empty parking garage nearby. Follow me. Don't even think of trying to get away."

Moving to the front of the group, he began guiding them towards the hiding place. None of them dared speak. Whether it was because they were angry for the Cybertronian's sudden intrusion or scared of the almost-hostage like situation they were, Zetta could honestly care less. As soon as they arrived at said parking garage, the halfa waited patiently for them to all get in before going last.

Now here they were.

Optimus was the first to speak, "Hello again."

Zettabyte's scowl only deepened.

"It seems we got off on the wrong foot, as the humans say. I am Optimus Prime," the Autobot leader said civilly.

"I know who you are, thank you. And I know your team; Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee," the neutral youth stated coolly.

He did not react when they gaped at him in shock.

 **[Even Ratchet?]** the scout beeped in apprehension.

"Yes, even your medic," the Cybertronian teen nodded.

"And may we ask your name?" Optimus questioned politely.

"It's Phantom Z," Zettabyte stated icily.

"Well Phantom Z, it is good to finally be officially acquainted with you," the Prime continued as kindly as he could.

"Too bad I can't say the same thing," came the halfa's bitter reply.

"Yes, I apologize for the incident that had transpired a few minutes ago," the former archivist said calmly.

"Don't. They can apologize for themselves. They're grown bots," the mechling said firmly, turning his gaze towards the other mechling and two-wheeler. "Someone should have said sorry to the humans. They're the ones who were splashed with dirty water without warning. And that man's attack was less than a sparkling's bite. I can't believe I'm discussing this with you. It can't be that hard to remember that humans are far less powerful than you. Unless they're in possession of heavy military weaponry, they pose no threat."

"Obviously you haven't heard of M.E.C.H.," Bulkhead spoke up.

"Oh, I've heard of them. I just don't categorize them with civilian humans. Especially not Silas," came the halfa's response.

"You know Silas?" Arcee probed.

"Let's just say I had an encounter with him that I wouldn't want to repeat," "Phantom Z" muttered. "But we're getting off topic. You aren't allowed to get mad if humans retaliate when they're angry with you. If anything, they are in the right to do so if the situation calls for it."

"Excuse us?" Bulkhead echoed, half affronted and half confused.

"This is their home. We're trespassers who are lucky enough to not be notice. You may be fighting a war but that is no reason to treat the Earth and its inhabitants like they're a burden in the way of you finishing off your so-called enemies," the neutral youth spat.

 **[We treat the humans and the Earth respectfully!]** Bee protested.

"Oh really? Do you take precautions when you fight the Decepticons in wooded areas where there is possibly endangered plants and animals or even human hikers? When you are stealing Energon from the miners, do you make sure to go back when the enemy is gone and clean up spilt Energon before it seeps into the ground and renders that part of the Earth ruined? Energon and dirt don't mix! It's poison to the Earth in its liquid form! And what about when you fight near communal areas? Do you do anything to make up for the damage?" the mechling exclaimed as he made sharp gestures with his servos.

"I can assure you, Phantom Z, that we always make sure to preserve sentient life in any way we can. As much as we can," the Autobot leader insisted.

"Yeah, when you're not ripping it from Vehicons and Eradicons who are just doing their jobs in order to survive and just want to live!" the Cybertronian teen snapped angrily.

"Hey, calm down! It's war. What choice do we have?" the moss-colored mech growled.

"You always have a choice!" the halfa snapped in a rage.

"Enough!" the Prime boomed before speaking in a quieter tone, "We do not wish to have you as our enemy, Phantom Z, but as our ally. We would like for you to consider an offer. An offer to be a part of our cause."

"Well, offer declined," came the cold reply from the porcelain white and black mechling.

 **[Wait! Hear us out!]** Bee begged.

However, the conversation was interrupted by a loud screech. All Cybertronians present snapped their helms to the source of the screech. The Autobots stared in surprise as a somewhat large blue, lavender, and white owl. The owl, Baylina as Zettabyte knew her, came to rest on his shoulder plating.

She flapped her wings, showing her distress. The halfa gently petted her with one digit and smiled as she cooed and calmed down a bit. However, the look in her icy orbs said that there was an issue. The magnificent avian chirped and took off. The mechling knew what he was expected to do.

"I am needed elsewhere," "Phantom Z" spoke calmly as he transformed into his vehicle mode. "Goodbye."

With that he sped off, the shouts of the Autobots ignored as he followed Baylina into an alley where a Ghost Zone portal was waiting for him. He willingly drove through.

 _In the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

No sooner had the neutral youth entered the limbo-like dimension did he come face to face with his mentor. But something was wrong.

The cobalt mech's optics held an emotion that was crossed between troubled and angry. He was gripping his scythe so hard that Zetta was sure that if the soul guider was human, his knuckles would be as white as marble. His cloak was wrinkled though Zetta detected none of the scent that came with the wrinkled clothing. Even the owl, who was now perched on the Nephilus' shoulder seemed to be more irritated and the mechling was unsure whether or not it stemmed from the mech's own displeasure.

For a second, the Cybertronian teen was afraid. Was his teacher angry at _him_? No, he hadn't done anything so far that could qualify as offensive or upsetting in the mech's optics. The fear melted in concern real fast. Was something wrong? Had something happened? Was something _going_ to happen? A list of horrible possibilities ran through his mind. Was someone close to him going to perish? Was there going to be some unstoppable catastrophe?

Before Zetta could ask, Nephilus finally spoke, "I'm glad you're here Zetta. We need to talk. I'm not gonna be able to train you for a couple of days."

While the news wasn't as bad as the Cybertronian teen thought, he couldn't help the feeling disappointed. But he pushed the disappointment aside as he saw the soul guider's frown deepen.

"It's Riversong. One of the Betas from her pack was exiled today," the cobalt mech announced. "It was a pretty hard thing for her to do. This is the first exile she's done since she's become the Alpha of her pack."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," came Zetta's sincere condolence. "How did the Beta get exiled?"

"The Beta, Amoru, got exiled because he broke one of the pack laws. Never attack a human without provocation," Nephilus' frown morphed into an angry snarl. "He attacked a human camper family just because he thought they had guns on them. It was road flares Zetta! Road flares! I swear, that mutt thinks everything is a threat to him. Don't tell Riversong I told you this, but I'm surprised Amoru wasn't kicked out of the pack long ago. He is unruly, controlling, and just a terrible pack mate in general. Ever since he started growing into adolescent stage. Everyone agrees that they'll be better off without him."

"So he has no chance of even the smallest redemption?" the halfa tried carefully.

"When a pack mate is exiled, they don't even have time to seek out a second chance. They're ties to the pack is what keep them thriving, spiritually and physically. It'll only be a matter of time before he…extinguishes from existence completely," the cobalt mech said in a darkened tone.

"Oh Geez. This sounds terrible. Is that why we're cancelling our sessions for the next couple of days?" Zettabyte asked gently.

"Partially. You see, Riversong is trying to busy herself from Amoru's exile and she's not emotionally well enough to look after Jinx, Vendett, and now Clovercharm like she always does around this time. None of the other elders can take charge either. They're all busy week as well. So now I have to take charge of them and handle this week's new, large bunch of Spite Mites, Taints, and Purities to take care of," Nephilus stated.

"Taints and Purities?" the mechling probed curiously.

"Bad and good souls respectively. Bad souls, or Taints, can be identified by their dark red aura while good souls, or Purities, have a pure white aura. Those in between have something akin to a pale yellow. We call them the undecided," the soul guider explained.

"You have to do all that by yourself?" the Cybertronian youth asked in shock.

"Mm-hm," his mentor answered with a hum.

Zettabyte bit his lip. He hated to see his teacher and friend with a large, stressful workload on his shoulders. He thought hard for a moment. What could be done to help Nephilus? Then it hit him.

"You know, I could babysit the kids if you want," the neutral youth offered without a second thought.

The cobalt mech stared at his pupil incredulously before asking, "Are you sure? You do know that looking after children comes with lots of work, right?"

"Oh, I know. Trust me," the halfa nodded in confirmation.

He recalled all the times his Amma had taken him to help look after the children of miners. He had watched her feed the sparklings, bathe them, read stories to them, sing them to sleep, and other things. All the while, she made sure that his attention was on every detail and often encouraged him to play with the sparklets and younglings close to his age at the time.

"I can also ask Sasha for information as well," he added out loud to himself and his teacher. "And if it gets to be too much or something happens, I'll bring them to you. I promise."

The soul guider looked into his student's determined and kind optics before agreeing, "Alright. I'll inform Jadeluck and Karmaro and we'll see what they say. Baylina will deliver the message to you tonight. Thank you Zettabyte."

"Anytime Nephilus," the Cybertronian teen said with a friendly smile.

 _A few hours later at Sasha's house; Third Person Perspective_

Sasha was doing homework while eating broccoli and stir-fried sesame seed tofu when Zettabyte arrived. She smiled when the mechling gave a short honk. Jumping from where she was sitting in the living room, she ran to the garage and opened the door.

Zettabyte, in his normal alt. mode, drove into the garage as his charge closed the door. Carefully, he transformed into his bi-pedal mode and grinned down at his friend. She too seemed very excited this evening.

"Hey Sasha, how was your day?" the neutral youth asked politely.

"It was great. Yours?" the Goth responded.

"Excellent. Actually, I have some news to tell you," the mechling stated with a grin.

"Really? So do I," the raven-haired girl grinned herself. "You wanna go first."

"No, you go," the halfa encouraged kindly.

"Alright. I'm gonna babysit for Colette and Adalia's younger siblings," the nature-lover declared.

Staring in shock, Zetta exclaimed, "You're babysitting too?! So am I! I'm gonna babysit for Jadeluck and Karmaro!"

"You are?!" Sasha couldn't help but exclaim herself.

"Yes. Theta use to show me all the time when we went out to help the lower class bots," the extra-terrestrial robot insisted. "And I was wondering…if you could also…give me some pointers."

Sasha smiled and answered, "Of course."

"Thank you Sasha," Zetta smiled as he sat down, ready to listen to her advice.

"Now the first thing you gotta remember is that patience and understanding is key," the Goth told her partner.

The halfa gladly listened for the rest of that evening.

Here's chapter two. Sorry it took so long. Finals you know-_-

Again flamers will be flamed and haters will be ignored.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Fears and Joys of Babysitting

Chapter 3: The Fears and Joys of Babysitting

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _At Adalia's house; Sasha's Perspective_

"You ready Sasha?" Sawyer asked with a grin, driving her towards the destination.

"As ready as I can be," Sasha smiled with a playful roll of her eyes.

She was dressed a sleeveless lilac tank top with a denim jacket and dark blue jeans. She wore black sneakers and had her hair pulled up into a blue-gray scrunchie. In her lap was the backpack she would normally bring with her when she and Zetta went out. She had even brought the basic materials just in case. This time it was filled with some story books, coloring books and coloring utensils, a first aid kit, a few towels, some snacks plus a lunch for herself, her phone, a change of clothes, organic lotion, some money, and organic hand-sanitizer.

"Thanks for looking after Midnight. I hate leaving her in my room when I'm not at school or home, but it's the only way I can keep her safe," the Goth said gratefully and sincerely. "And I don't want the kids to meet her and accidentally mention her to their parents. Who knows if they'll bring it up when they talk to the Sandersons.

 _Plus Zetta shouldn't always have to take charge of her. Especially when he's being Phantom Z and there's no telling who or what he'll encountered_ , the nature-lover said to herself silently, recalling how the poor mechling had told her that he had to leave the feline at the house so as to not endanger her because he was following Team Prime.

"It's no problem. My grandma loved animals. She had a cat when my dad was a kid himself," the soccer-player reassured with a smile.

Sasha grinned as they stopped in front of clean white house. It was a two story and had steps leading up to the front door. There was an attached garage that was a bit smaller than Sasha's. On the porch was a rocking chair and porch swing. Statues of religious figures were surrounded by bright colored flowers and lush green bushes. Both teens got out of the SUV and made their way to the front porch.

As they did, Sasha could smell the scent of sweets baking and felt her mouth watering. Composing herself, she knocked politely.

"Come in," came her Latina friend's voice called out.

Opening the door, a blast of cool air and a sugar-laced aroma hit her. Inside, the wall were a soft yellow and the carpet was a beige color. Pictures and sayings scripted into wood, painted on porcelain, or sewn into cloth hung on the walls. Two small tables with small statuettes and plotted plants stood in the hallway.

"We're in here!" came the French-accent laced voice of the auburn-haired baker/cook.

Following the sound of her friend's voice, the nature-lover found the kitchen. It was a modest little thing with no dishwasher but a rather impressive fridge and what looked to be door to a pantry. The walls were also a soft yellow but the floor was composed of blue and white tiles. There was a breakfast nook with spacious windows and pale red curtains. The table itself was a dark brown wood and had matching chairs while the cushioned chairs of the nook were a dark sky blue. On one of the wooden chairs was a large, brown tote bag. In the middle of the table was a basket of fruit containing bananas, papayas, mangos, apples, oranges, and pears.

The two young bakers were hard at work. Colette was putting in trays of raw cookie dough while removing the already baked cookies from the oven before moving them to a wire racks to cool. Adalia was rotating between mixing ingredients to helping her fellow culinary enthusiast rolling balls of cookie dough from bowls of it that had been made the night before.

"Sorry. We're in the zone and we can't stop," Colette apologized. "Ms. Darby said that blood drive starts at three and this is just the beginning. Both my parents and Adalia's woke up late because they were so busy getting everything ready."

"Then they decided to add a few more things just to be on the safe side before they left," Adalia said with a half-hearted groan before smiling at Sasha. "But they wanted us to tell you that they're really grateful for offering to a hand."

"It's no problem at all," the raven-haired girl chuckled with modesty.

Turning her head towards the entrance, Colette shouted, "Claudia! Manuel! Sasha is here! Come down, please!"

A duo of small footsteps sounded from somewhere upstairs before descending down and coming closer. Two young children entered the kitchen. The Goth had only seen both children for an instant whenever she came over to either of her friend's household. She had introduced herself to them only once and had greeted them kindly, along with their parents whenever she came over.

Manuel, five-years-old with tanned skin, deep brown eyes, and a mop of brown hair the same shade as his sister's, was a bit shy but otherwise a content kid. Today, hee wore a lemon yellow shirt with a lion on the front and jean shorts. He wore yellow socks and ocean blue Nike's. On his back was an apple red backpack with a dandelion yellow dinosaur motif. He wore a shy but happy smile.

Next to him was seven-year-old Claudia. She had her sister's blue-green eyes but had dark-colored curls that went slightly past her shoulders. She was fair skinned and wore a more eager smile that her younger, male counterpart. She wore a long-sleeved white and rose pink shirt with a ruffled denim skirt. She wore cotton candy pink socks and black and pink tennis shoes. She herself had a white backpack with hot pink highlights. No doubt she was a lot more adventurous than her Manuel.

"Guys, you remember Sasha. She's a friend of ours. Say hello," Adalia instructed gently.

"Hello Sasha," they said in unison, both voices surprisingly sharing the same volume despite their difference in composure.

"Hey guys, ready to go?" the nature-lover asked with a smile and friendly tone to which both nodded enthusiastically.

"My mom and Mrs. LaChance packed some extra stuff for you to bring with you," the Latina said as she grabbed the large tote bag, before handing it to her friend. "It has a notepad filled with a schedule for the day or numbers to call if something happens, a small first aid, and lunch. My mom packed Manuel chicken salad sandwich with a black bean and corn salad, apple slices, cheese, carrot sticks, and orange juice. Colette's mom packed Claudia some Fettucine Alfredo with roasted chicken slices, sautéed peas and green beans, pear and peach slices, and apple juice. We also packed you guys the last of the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert."

"Really? Thank you," the raven-haired girl nodded with a smile as her friend helped her adjust the tote bag on her shoulders.

"Manuel and Claudia have some toys, books, and a change of clothes for themselves in their backpacks along with my mother's phone in case yours runs out of energy or you lose it," Colette added.

"Well I brought some story books and coloring books too in case they want to color," Sasha spoke up before turning her attention to Sawyer. "Are you sure you're alright with driving the kids and I to the park?"

The African American teen smiled confidently, "It's no problem at all. Besides, it's a good idea. The hospital is just a few blocks away for when you go give blood."

When the park was being planned, the land developer had decided wisely to built it near the hospital should a child get injured while playing or sick from things such as an allergic reaction. And since the hospital staff used the park as a place to break for lunch or relax, it heightened the medical safety of the other park goers. By the time Adalia and Colette would be finished setting up the cookies and beverages, Sasha would be able to hand the kids over to their siblings and donate blood herself.

"That reminds me," the soccer-player began playfully, "What type of cookies are you girls making?"

Sharing a smile with the French-speaker, Adalia began, "Well we're doing red velvet white chocolate chip cookies to symbolize the colors of the blood donation, oatmeal cookies with different dried fruits in it to help the donors get some iron back, and a few snickerdoodles, white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies, and chocolate chip cookies."

"Mm-mm! Now I can't way to donate blood. Doing a good deed and getting one of your cookies as a reward. Only a crazy person would refuse," Sawyer grinned widely.

"Then you better be there on time," Colette jokingly threatened.

The African-American teen nodded eagerly.

"Alright, goodbye Manny," Adalia cooed as she knelt down to hug her brother. "Listen to Sasha."

"Yes Addie," Manuel said with a smile as he hugged back.

"You too Claudia," the auburn-haired girl said gently to her younger sister who she was also hugging. "We'll see you two at the blood drive, alright?"

"Alright," Claudia said cheerfully as the embrace broke. "See you!"

The two girls resumed their baking as their younger siblings went out the door with Sawyer and Sasha who shouted a goodbye. They trotted over to the SUV as Sawyer unlocked it. He and the nature-lover carefully helped the kids into the backseats and waited for the kids to buckle themselves in before getting in themselves.

"Jasper Park, here we come," the soccer-player crowed with a smile as Sasha, Manuel, and Claudia laughed.

 _In the Ghost Zone; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte smiled calmly as Jadeluck situated her daughter in the papoose she put on him while her mate held the case holding everything the halfa would need to look after the three kids. Meanwhile Nephilus was playfighting with Vendett and Jinx, laughing and allowing them to "overpower" him.

"You sure you got her?" the spirit of fortune asked with a low hint of nervousness.

"Yes. She's comfortable," the halfa confirmed as he tickled the newborn, eliciting a squeal of laughter.

"Eh!" she babbled grasping the porcelain white finger.

Seeing her daughter content with her babysitter, the femme relaxed. Karmaro then brought the case over and handed it to the mechling.

"The boys' lunches and the baby's bottles are in here. There's also some things for them to read and play with. There is also some medical supplies in there if the boys get scrapes," the spirit of justice explained and smiled. "We put some lunch in there for you too."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," the neutral youth thanked sincerely.

"Just remember, if you need help, contact Nephilus immediately," the crimson mech instructed with a firm but kind tone.

To this, Zettabyte nodded firmly, "Of course."

Smiling at the Cybertronian teen, Karmaro turned his attention to his sons, "Come on over boys."

Faster than a lightning strike, the two younglings pulled away from the cobalt mech and hurried over to stand between their father and the mechling. Leaning down, the spirit of justice gave his sons a firm but loving hug and pecks on the helms before standing up and giving his baby girl a kiss on the cheek. Zettabyte felt a ping of envy at the sight of father-child love but squashed it. Jadeluck mimicked her mate's actions.

The soul guider came over and gave his shoulder plating an encouraging squeeze, saying, "You'll do fine."

Feeling his confidence boosted, the neutral youth grinned back as he turned his bracelet to create a portal to leave the Ghost Zone.

"See you soon!" the spirit couple called after their children and their babysitter.

"See ya!" Zettabyte called back as he entered the portal.

Not a minute later, the mechling and three young spirits found themselves in the Sawtooth National Forest. The Sun shone brightly and the air was fresh with the smell of Douglas-firs. Birds chirped in the trees and there was a soft breeze. If you listened closer, you could hear the burbling of a brook, the buzzing of insects, and the small skittering of smaller forest creatures. Zettabyte tore himself aware form the scenery in time to see his temporary charges attempting to climb a tree.

"Hey hey hey guys, don't climb on that. You could fall and hurt yourselves," the mechling said patiently as he walked over to them quickly.

"We just want to see the bird's nest up here," Jinx insisted, pointing at a particular branch.

Peering closer, he saw that indeed there was a nest. It was a slightly large nest with three eggs. The eggs could have been mistaken for stones with their dull white color and specks of brown and gray. It suddenly clicked in the neutral youth's helm what bird inhabited this nest.

"This is a Golden eagle nest," Zetta said loud enough for his charges to hear as well before quickly picking up Jinx and setting him on the ground.

No sooner had the halfa done that, a loud cry echoed from above. Sure enough, a dark-colored bird of prey soared above them before flying over to her nest. She perched over it before letting out a warning screech at the intruders.

"Boys, I think it's time we left," Zettabyte said, not breaking his gaze with the angry mother bird who was now comfortably sitting on her unhatched offspring but still looking peeved. "Let's give her and her eggs privacy."

"How come she won't let us see them?" Vendett questioned. "The birds at Aunt Terrana's garden don't mind when we look."

"Well those birds are use to bigger individuals like ourselves taking a peek. That eagle isn't," the Cybertronian teen explained patiently.

"We're sorry," both younglings bowed their helms.

"It's alright. The important thing is that you learned from your mistake," their guardian responded kindly.

Suddenly, Clovercharm began whimpering and wriggling fitfully in her papoose. Her aqua optics were scrunched shut and her little servos had balled up into fists.

"Hey there, what's wrong little one?" Zettabyte cooed, trying to soothe her.

"She does that when she's fussy. Our mom just bounces her and whispers to her," Vendett spoke up helpfully.

The Cybertronian teen followed the advice and shushed the sparkling. He carefully bounced her as he whispered soothingly to her, all the while he himself was trying to keep himself calm. He looked at the area around him. He saw no humans but knew that unusual sounds, like an infant's cries, would not go unnoticed by any human campers located in the other areas of the forest. While the forest was as vast as any other, the bushy but narrow shape of the trees would not be enough to hide him and his charges. He didn't dare consider taking the children aboard the _Nemesis_ but he didn't want to bother the elders or Nephilus. He had barely left the Ghost Zone! He only had one solution.

"Can you two do two favors for me, please?" Zettabyte asked in a polite and calm tone as not to cause alarm.

"Yes!" both youngling mechs nodded.

"First, I need you two to hold your sister for me, alright?" the neutral youth asked to which his two older male charges nodded before he began taking off the sling and handing them their newborn sibling, making sure they got a good hold on her and she was comfortable. "There we go. Now, ready for the second favor?"

"Yes!" the answered in unison again.

"I need you guys to hide behind a couple of trees. If I give this signal," the halfa made a cross-fingered wave, "Make yourselves and Clovercharm invisible, alright?"

"Alright!" the two chorused before hurrying to a large group of trees.

Once, he made sure they were covered enough, Zettabyte pressed the remote that would signal Soundwave that he would want to bridge to another part of Earth. The Cybertronian teen waited a few minutes before his comm. pinged.

The mechling answered, pressing two fingers to the side of his helm, "Hello?"

Silence. Zetta knew exactly who it was.

"Hello Soundwave. I hope you don't mind but can I get a Groundbridge to somewhere else? I don't know let's say the Beach Tree Forest of Shirakami Sanchi, please?" Zettabyte asked calmly and respectfully.

The robotic extra-terrestrial gave Vendett and Jinx the signal. Sure enough, the younglings turned themselves and their little sister invisible. Zettabyte kept a careful optic out for the Decepticon TIC's Mini-con. A moment later, a bridge appeared before him. Taking another minute to make sure he wasn't being watched, he made a "come over here" gesture to the unseen spirit children. Thankfully, they had good enough sense to remain invisible as they trotted up to their babysitter. The halfa new they were right beside him when a chunk of dirt kicked up out of nowhere beside him.

"Follow me," Zettabyte whispered gently, holding his servo out. "And hold my servo."

When he felt two small servos grab his own, he began walking through the Groundbridge.

 _At the Jasper Park an hour later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha smiled as the two children ate in front of her. Manuel was hungrily digging into his chicken salad sandwich, getting a bit around his mouth, while Claudia ate her pasta with a bit more neatness but equal hunger. The Goth's own lunch consisted of a veggie burrito consisting of black beans, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, and sour cream wrapped in a spinach tortilla with homemade butternut squash and zucchini fries. Along with that she had a fruit ambrosia made of pineapples, bananas, oranges, golden raisins, mangos, marshmallows, and vanilla yogurt and a can of Coke.

A few minutes later, they were putting away their Tupperware when a male voice shouted, "Heads up!"

Out of nowhere, a soccer ball came hurtling towards them. Thankfully, it missed the three living targets. Unfortunately, however, it smacked into Manuel's half-finished pint of orange juice, splashing the contents onto the raven-haired girl. Sasha bit back an expletive she wanted to shout.

"Oh my gosh, Sasha! Are you okay?" a familiar voice called.

Looking up from her citrus-fluid stained shirt, the nature-lover saw Isabella running towards her. The blonde girls' normal school attire had been traded out for a white and peach-colored v-neck with jean shorts and white running shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail by a yellow scrunchie. Running right beside her was Sierra, her own hair in her normal ponytail. She wore a sky blue tank top with and white tennis shorts with powder blue running shoes.

"Hey Isabella. Hey Sierra. Yeah, I'm fine. Just soaked…and getting a bit sticky," Sasha replied calmly.

"We're so sorry," the blonde haired classmate said, obviously sincerely humiliated.

Sierra snapped her head towards the direction they came from and shouted, "Duncan, get over here now!"

Not a second later, a boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen came running over. He had scruffy-looking sand blonde hair, hazel eyes, and slight freckles. He wore a vibrant green and icy blue T-shirt and white shorts with dark Kelly green and black Nikes. He had an apologetic grin on his shoulder.

"Duncan's my cousin," Isabella explained. "He and his friends are visiting this week from Arizona while their school's going under construction. We took them to the park to burn off some energy and they got carried away with their soccer game."

"Sorry," the young teen, Duncan, said in a remorseful tone. "I was trying to pass the ball to Ken and I guess I…miscalculated."

"It's fine. I got a change of clothes. Can you guys watch Manuel and Claudia for a minute while I go change?" the Goth asked.

"You mean Adalia's little brother and Colette's little sister? Alright," Sierra said nodding and laughed at her classmate's slightly surprised expression. "It's a small town Sasha. And yes, we'll be happy to watch them until you come back."

"Thank you," Sasha thanked with a smile before turning to her charges. "I'll be right back, alright?"

Both kids nodded with smiles.

Grabbing her backpack, the raven-haired girl jogged towards the bathrooms. It was a small building with two medium parts, separated for either sex. The building was a soft green and the doors for the women and the men's bathrooms were a beige color with a pink and blue sign respectively. Quickly finding an empty stall in the clean restroom, she quickly changed. Seconds later she reappeared in a dark blue violet tank top with and a pair of black tennis shorts.

"I'm back! Thank you guys for watching them," the nature-lover said good-naturedly once she had returned to the exact same spot.

"You're welcome. It's the least we can do since Duncan caused the mess," Sierra said, pointing a thumb at her friend's cousin who had returned to his soccer game with two other boys his age.

"Sasha, can we go play with the other kids?" Manuel asked kindly, pointing to the play area.

The play area consisted of the usual playground equipment; swings, a slide, a jungle gym, climbing equipment, a few see-saw, a merry-go-round, and animal spring riders. A sum of twelve or more kids were currently all over it.

"Please?" Claudia added, her blue-green eyes sparkling.

"Alright," the Goth gave in. "But try to play where I can see you, okay?"

"Okay!" the young Hispanic boy agreed giddily as he raced towards the play area.

"Thank you," the dark-haired girl said respectfully before following her younger male companion.

"Wow, you're good with kids," Sierra complimented in an impressed tone.

"Well you learn a lot when you have a big family," the raven-haired girl shrugged modestly.

"So true," Isabella nodded. "Hey, you wanna sit and talk with us for a bit? You should be able to still keep an eye on the kids and we should still be able to keep an eye on Duncan and his friends."

"I'd like that," Sasha nodded as she followed them.

 _In the Beech Tree Forest of Shirakami Sanchi; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte smiled down at Clovercharm who was drinking her bottle. Her aqua optics stared up at him with fascination and content as her little servo held onto the larger servo that was so carefully feeding her.

"You got an appetite alright," the halfa laughed softly. "Just like your brothers."

Jinx and Vendett were both sitting down, munching on their own food. The food they ate consisted mainly of Power Nectar and what looked to be produce from Terrana's gardens and items that Riversong commonly got from where her pack resided. The lunch that their parents had packed for the mechling was a large thermos full of a Nectar based broth with the herbal noodles that the neutral youth enjoyed and soft chewy dumplings that had a spicy hint. Taking another slip and chewing on the noodles and dumplings before swallowing, he resumed feeding the youngest of the fortune and justice family. Out of nowhere, his comm. pinged.

All optics fell on him, as he slowly and cautiously answered, "Hello?"

" **Hey Zetta!"** came a familiar young male voice.

"Oh, hello Raf. How are you?" the mechling asked calmly while holding back a breath of relief, bringing a digit to his lips to signal his male charges to be quiet.

Zettabyte had allowed his partner to give Team Prime's human allies the his comm. line for emergencies. He was so focused on Clovercharm, Vendett, and Jinx that he had forgotten momentarily.

" **I'm fine. Just wanted to see what you're doing,"** the pre-teen said in a friendly manner.

"Oh, I'm just admiring nature," the Cybertronian teen answered casually. "What about you?"

" **Well, I'm at the base with Bee playing video games. Miko's still grounded and Jack's helping his mom with the blood drive by running some last minute errands,"** the computer protégé said, though there was a slight hint of boredom. **"Y'know…you could come hang out with Bee and I. Bulkhead's not here and Ratchet wouldn't mind bridging you here."**

"Thank you for the offer, but I rather be by myself today," Zettabyte answered honestly and as politely as possible.

" **Oh, okay then…maybe next time then?"** the brunette haired boy asked hopefully.

"Maybe. Have a good day Raf," the halfa said kindly before ending the call.

Suddenly, Zetta felt guilty. He knew that deep, Raf was felt rejected. Being the youngest of a so many siblings must be hard. And while the young genius may have Bee, the neutral youth knew the scout couldn't be present all the time in his charge's life. Not like Zetta could.

"Are you feeling bad Zetta?" Vendett asked softly.

"A little," the mechling admitted to the younger male.

"You shouldn't feel bad. Mommy, Daddy, and everybody else hate seeing you sad," Jinx spoke up.

"I know but it's hard not too when you tell someone who really wants your presence no," the Cybertronian teen sighed.

"That's because you're a good person," the middle child insisted. "Mommy and Daddy said so."

"Daddy says the reason why Bulkhead picks on you is because he's jealous of you," the eldest added. "He says that he's jealous because you're not tainted by hate and bitterness like he is."

Zettabyte felt a smile grace his face. The Ghost Zone elders were fond of him and for that, he was grateful. They loved him like as though he was part of their family. And to be honest, the halfa felt the same way. It made him remember one of his Amma's words of wisdom.

" _The people who hate you aren't the ones who solely matter. But the people who love you, care for you, and want you…they're the ones who are your whole world. Remember that my sparkling."_

Zetta was brought out of his memories by the giggling and cooing of the child still in his arms. He looked down to see her smiling and making grabby hands towards his faceplates. He leaned down so her little servos could reach. She babbled as her servos ran all over his faceplates.

"Ah! Ehehehe! Ah! Baba! Abu!" she gurgles to him.

 _Well, it seems you were right Amma,_ the mechling thought in content.

 _At the park; Sasha's Perspective_

"I can't believe she did that to the hospital!" Sierra exclaimed, having heard Sasha' explanation for why she was babysitting.

"Neither can I," Isabella added with a shake of her head. "Someone ought to shut down woman down. She obviously only cares about profit and not her customers."

"People like Harriet Miller deserve to go to _jail_ ," her friend insisted.

"Well, the important thing is that now there will top quality cookies for the donors and the blood drive won't be cancelled," Sasha said to which her classmates nodded firmly themselves.

Then they heard one of the kids scream.

The three girls snapped their heads to where the scream came from. All the kids were screaming and panicking around something. Jumping up from her seat, the Goth ran to see what the problem was, Sierra and Isabella following close behind. The raven-haired girl swiveled her head from side to side, before she caught sight of Claudia and Manuel staring in terror at the scene from the top of the jungle gym.

 _They're safe,_ she mentally sighed in relief.

But as she came to the crowded children, she felt her heart stop. A young boy, no older than Claudia, was thrashing on the ground, his mouth emitting choking noises and his skin began to turn purple. She instantly took notice of the raw, reddish spots on his arms, legs, and neck.

"He's having an extreme allergic reaction!" she shouted to her friends and the adults in the vicinity. "He needs an injection! Who's looking after him?! He needs an EpiPen!"

"Bobby!"

A woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties came sprinting over, face pale in terror.

"Are you this kid's caretaker?" the raven-haired girl asked quickly.

"Yes! I'm his aunt! His parents are in Boston on a business trip! I'm looking after him!" she answered, without looking at Sasha as she pushed her towards her nephew.

"Do you have an EpiPen?" the nature-lover asked firmly.

"I _did_ have one! Some thug stole my purse and the EpiPen was in it!" she sobbed shrilly as she cradled the gasping child in her arms.

"Clear the way!"

Everyone turned to see two young men sprinting towards them. On looked to be about nineteen while the other looked to be twenty-one. Both wore hospital uniforms, showing that they were either doctors or nurses. The nineteen-looking one had a first aid with him. He and his partner pushed past the crowd and kneeled by the boy. Opening the kit, the younger of the two snatched out an EpiPen before positioning it over Bobby's thigh before stabbing it in and injecting it.

The crowd stayed silent.

Then, to the relief of everyone, the boy stopped gasping and starting to take in deep breaths. His aunt held him close as she cried in relief and thanked the two men profusely. The crowd, including the children, clapped in approval.

"That was amazing!" Isabella breathed.

"Yeah!" Sierra agreed in enthusiastic relief.

Sasha approached the two young men, "That was a great save. What are your names?"

The younger male didn't reply, focusing on closing the bag but not before putting the used EpiPen in a bag. The older one, however, whowas checking out the boy to assure nothing else was amiss, turned to her and grinned.

"I'm Angelo Weaver," he said before pointing a thumb to his slightly younger friend. "And this is my fellow nurse, Eric Collins."

Sasha nodded with a smile but as she looked at Eric, she noticed something. He was shooting an angry look at the unaware aunt of Bobby.

Here's chapter three. Two more chapters to go. Once again, Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	4. Chapter 4: True Instinct

Chapter 4: True Instinct

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

Warning; This chapter has mentions of emotional child neglect and a bit of death.

 _At the Jasper Emergency Hospital; Sasha's Perspective_

"Are all these people here for the blood drive?" Claudia asked as she stared at all the people lining up to be checked by the nurses.

"You bet," Sasha chuckled.

After the incident at the playground, Eric had called an ambulance to pick up Bobby. Seeing as how it was almost time for the blood drive to start, Sasha asked for a lift. Thankfully, they seemed to have no qualms, especially when she told them that she knew June and Jack. And it didn't hurt that Claudia and Manuel were excited to ride in an emergency vehicle. It would seem that any vehicle with a siren attracted the fascination of young children.

During the ride, she had learned a lot about Angelo. He had been raised in Queens after his parents moved out of Brooklyn when they discovered they were having him. His mother was of Italian and Filipino descent. He was here to help care for his paternal grandmother, who was the last living relative he and his parents had and had got a job as an EMT through a friend of the family. He was quite a hit with the ladies with his charming light brown eyes, black hair, and good-natured attitude.

Eric…was another story. The younger of the two nurses rarely said anything to the raven-haired girl during the ride. He was preoccupying himself with checking little Bobby for any signs of relapse. Sasha did notice that the male nurse kept shooting nasty looks at Bobby's aunt. While the nature-lover knew she could be wrong, she had a feeling that it had something to do with Bobby's violent allergic reaction. His blue-gray eyes were hardened. The olive tone skin of his knuckles were white as they were clenched into fists, only unclenching to run his fingers through his dark hair.

"I thought people's bodies make their own blood, why do they need the blood drive?" Manuel asked.

"They do but when a person is hurt, their bodies can produce enough blood fast enough. And if the person is losing too much blood too fast, the doctors need to have some on hand to help those people," Sasha explained patiently.

"Are you going to participate?" the dark-haired girl asked curiously.

"Yes, I am," the Goth told her charges proudly.

"Aren't you afraid of the needle? I would be," the prepubescent Latino asked with a shiver.

"I use to. Now I understand that needles are a necessity for the hospital and they aren't meant to be used for harm, no matter how much they pinch," the nature-lover assured kindly, using the word "pinch" to give them a less threatening idea of the feeling.

"But what happens to the people who give blood?" Claudia insisted earnestly.

"That's why your sisters are making cookies and the nurses are bringing milk and juice. It's to help the donors get energy while they bodies accommodate the blood they gave away," the raven-haired girl explained, grinning as her charges finally nodded in understanding.

"Sasha!"

Sasha turned her head to see June walking over to her. By her side was Jack. While the Darby matriarch was dressed in her usual nurse outfit, minus the coat she wore over it, her son wore a similar outfit but it was colored white instead of green and had a red cross on the upper left of his shirt. The nurse grinned as she hugged the Goth.

"I just got a call from Adalia and Colette saying they're bringing the cookies over right now," the nurse chirped happily. "Thank you so much for getting them on board."

"It was no problem," the nature-lover insisted. "Besides, Adalia and Colette did the baking. I think they deserve most of the praise."

June nodded with a smile before bending down to smile at the two small children, "And how are you two today?"

"We're doing good Nurse Darby," Claudia giggled.

"Yeah! Our sisters packed us chocolate chip pecan cookies!" Manuel said excitedly.

"Really? Well would you like some juice or milk to go with that?" the obsidian-haired woman asked sweetly.

"Yes please," they said in unison.

"Why don't you two go with Nurse Darby? I need to talk with Jack. Would that be alright?" Sasha asked to which the two children and nurse nodded with smiles before leaving.

"What's up?" Jack asked curiously.

"What do you know about Eric Collins?" the raven-haired girl probed.

"Eric? Well he's an okay guy. But he mostly keeps to himself. Although everyone says he performs really good," the onyx-haired teen stated. "Why do you ask? And more importantly, how do you know Eric?"

"I was at the park with Manny and Claudia when a kid had an allergic reaction and Eric and Angelo came to help. I rode with them and Angelo was the only one who wanted to talk with me," the Goth explained. "The kid's aunt was there and I could be wrong but I saw Eric giving the aunt dirty looks."

"You're not wrong Sasha. And the kid's aunt isn't the first," Jack sighed.

"What?" the raven-haired girl breathed in surprise.

"You're not the only one who sees it either. As far as Eric's been here, me, my mom, and a few of her fellow nurses have noticed Eric giving the mothers of the patients here mean looks. He does it sometimes with the fathers but its' mostly the moms. It's like he thinks it's their fault their children are here," the junior confessed with a wince. "One mother who brought her daughter in, the kid sprained her ankle at school when she was pushed during recess, got visited by social services. They got an anonymous call that she was deliberately ignoring her child's claims of being bullied at school. The mother never found out who called them but the staff and I have a feeling that Eric called them."

By the time, Sasha's eyes were widened in disbelief. She had heard stories of school officials and hospital staff overreacting when an injured child was brought in, assuming that their illnesses and injuries had been caused by the parents or guardians, sure. But for someone to call social services behind a parent's back without firm proof or confrontation was unheard of, at least to the nature-lover.

"But why? I mean I get it's his job to ensure the well-being of the patients, but why just the parents?" the Goth asked.

"Who knows? All I know is that the only reason why no one has confronted him about it is because he keeps himself in check. He's not rude or aggressive with the parents and does everything that's expected. So there's no reason for the superiors to confront him," Jack said with a shrug.

"Do you know where he went?" Sasha questioned.

"He's in the break room," the obsidian-haired pointed at a door to the right. "Word of advice, approach the situation slowly."

Nodding, Sasha started walking towards the door. Entering she saw a hallway of doors. She walked down the hall, looking at the names of all the rooms until she came to a double-door labeled "Break Room." She disregarded the sign that said "Staff Only." Entering, she saw that it was large enough to be occupied by seven or so people. There was a snack machine, a fridge, a sink, a microwave, and a coffeemaker. There were five white circular tables with two to three chairs each. And the only other occupant beside her was the nurse she was looking for.

Eric sat with only a cup of steaming coffee out in front of him, eyes downcast until he looked up and said, "You know this is for staff only."

Calmly and civilly, Sasha responded, "I'm aware of that. I just came to ask you a few questions."

He didn't say anything but he shrugged, as if to say "fire away."

"Are you alright? You seemed pretty anxious on the ride here," the raven-haired girl stated politely.

"It was pretty unnerving for me whenever I ride with a patient. It always is," the dark-haired male nurse explained coolly.

"You seemed to be unhappy with Bobby's aunt. Why?" the nature-lover treaded carefully.

"Of course I was. Who the heck leaves a child unattended while they chase someone who stole something? And who doesn't keep an extra EpiPen in their pocket when they're with family or friends who have serious allergies?" the young man asked in a harsher tone.

"She didn't see it coming. It's not like she intended for it to happen," the Goth stated, slightly annoyed by this male's unfair accusation.

"It's the same every time," Eric sneered bitterly as he began mimicking female voices. " 'I didn't know it would happen. I wasn't watching him. I didn't know she was getting bullied. I didn't leave the door open. I didn't leave the pool uncovered. I told her not to pet the dog.' It's all I ever here out of those so-called mothers and legal guardians."

"You seem to have a rotten view of parents. Mainly mothers. Why is that?" Sasha finally asked with a firmness that demanded an answer.

"It comes from experience," the young male medic snapped.

"Oh? Well enlighten me of this experience?" she challenged, crossing her arms as her mouth set in a firm line.

Eric sighed in aggravation as he began, ""I never knew my dad. My mother divorced him and filed a restraining order against him, saying it was for the best. But what she really meant that it for _her_ best. She said he was a bad influence but she never told me enough for me to believe her. I talked to people in town who weren't so fond of her and not too apprehensive about telling me. They admitted that my dad was a bit of a wild card but the things they said about my mother were worse. And to be honest, they fit her."

Now Sasha, was seated right across from him, violet orbs staring into blue-gray orbs.

"They say she was a cheat and leech. And for good reason. I heard stories of how she use to bully all the girls and sleep with all the guys for money or others things. Despite the restraining order, she still demanded my dad to pay child support without allowing him to see me. The only reason she got away with it because she was fooling around with the judge she had put up the restraining order and demand child support. And you wanna know how much of that money she actually used for me? Only enough to feed me, clothe me, and keep me clean to show to the public eye. Everything else, she used to buy herself clothes and jewelry she only wore once and go party at ritzy clubs and eat and expensive places. The only time she spent a little more on me was during my birthdays so no one would get suspicious."

Sasha started to feel uneasy.

"My high school life was even worse. I was isolated because, thanks to her sleeping with the fathers of the popular kids at school, I was labeled "The Homewrecker's Son." And if that wasn't enough, she started catching the eye of some of the teachers' husbands. Do you know how many classes I almost failed because they tried to get back at my mother through me? I was lucky to graduate with grades just barely hanging onto a C-average border. And do you think she showed up for that graduation? Nope. She called and said that she was stuck at work. It wasn't until I was walking home that I found out."

"Found out what?" the raven-haired girl asked cautiously.

"That she was actually on a date at some fancy restaurant with food that cost more than our house. And of course she was with some rich guy who looked to be almost ten years older than her. By the way they were talking, I knew they had been dating for a long time. Just as I was about to leave, the guy gets on one knees, pulls out a diamond ring in a velvet box, and asks her to marry him. Of course she says yes. But then again, I didn't stick around to see. I got home, called one of the few friends I had, packed everything I owned, which as you can imagine wasn't a whole lot, and left. My friend let me stay until my first semester of college started. She kept trying to call me but I wouldn't have it. I knew that she had destroyed all contact with my father by marrying that guy, ruining my chance to find who and where he was. My friend claimed she left phone calls, trying to draw me in by saying her new husband would pay for my college but it didn't tempt me. Thankfully, the money I earned from working at the town pharmacy and my financial aid helped me keep my head above water. I took a job as a store clerk when I moved into the dorms."

"Then what happened?" the nature-lover couldn't help but probe.

"In my fall semester of sophomore year, I got a call telling me that she got arrested. Apparently, her new husband got hit by a car and died a few months before. She was so "upset" that she started using the inheritance he left her to purchase some "unorthodox medication." They asked me to come and speak in her trial. I refused. I transferred to a college near here and got a job here at the hospital. So now she sits in jail rotting for her own deeds. So don't try saying that my doubting the maternal instinct is wrong. Because, in real life, women like my mother always look out only for themselves."

Sasha could only stare as finally took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee.

 _In the Beech Tree Forest in Shirakami Sanchi; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"So, when Nephilus looks after you guys, what do you do?" Zettabyte asked, rocking a sleeping Clovercharm in his arms.

It had been an hour and a half since they finished lunch and the younglings had played while their babysitter burped their sister. She had been fussy but not terribly. Once she had drifted off, the mechling encouraged them to quietly read a book so as not to awake the baby. The halfa chose this time to ask the question, if only to see how his mentor would babysit them if he were here.

"We mostly read and play while he handles the Taints and Purities," Vendett says.

"Sometimes he lets us interact with the Purities," Jinx spoke up with a genuine smile.

"The Taints are stupid," Vendetta grumbled.

Zetta felt tempted to scold the eldest child for the use of such a hurtful word but decided not to. After all, the kid wasn't wrong about the souls of the wrongdoers.

Instead, the neutral youth asked, "Really? How so?"

"They keep denying they're dead and refuse to admit what they did wrong," Vendett said plainly.

"I see," Zettabyte said, feeling disgust at the Taints.

Even in death, the cruel remained the same.

"One time, a male Taint got to close to us, and Daddy kicked them and they went flying before they fell down," the middle child added.

"Really?" Zetta asked, astonished.

"Yup!" Jinx said with a proud smile. "He showed him who's boss."

"Another time, one of the female Taints were being real mouthy and our mom slapped her so hard, she left a dark colored mark on her face," the eldest added. "Nephilus even wrote it in his End Journal."

"End Journal?" the Cybertronian teen echoed in confusion.

"It's a list of people who are gonna pass away and enter the Ghost Zone," Vendett explained. "It tells us all the information. Whether they're good or bad, gender, age, how they died, all that."

To say Zetta was surprised would be an understatement. The amount of knowledge they knew of his teacher's job was a huge total shock. These two, unlike him, were not being sheltered from the world or given bland, innocent reasoning or justification. They were given full yet honest explanations and were shown everything that lied outside their home.

Strangely enough, the Cybertronian teen didn't feel pity but glad. Glad that Jadeluck and Karmaro were not taking the selfish route like so many higher class creators did back on Cybertron. Making up "logical" reasoning to excuse their cruel and selfish actions and traditions. Drilling into their creations' minds that the caste poisoned existence that they had the gall to call a society was a perfect Utopia. Tricking them into ignoring the cries of help from the members of the caste beneath them.

No, instead the two spirits raised their sons, and will raise their daughter, to be knowledgeable, understanding, and involved. And for that, he was grateful. It was then that he became curious.

"What information do you remember from the book?" the halfa asked carefully.

He did feel a bit guilty asking them a question which he felt he should be asking his mentor but he couldn't help it.

"We only remember a few names and information," Jinx shrugged.

"We do remember information that involves two future Taints," the middle child shrugged. "But only a little."

"Well, what do you remember?" the halfa asked patiently.

"The one that's in jail is named Tamara Collins. And the one who's going to jail is Becky Ward," Jinx stated. "Both are gonna become to arrive in the Ghost Zone three years from tomorrow."

"Becky Ward; will be survived by her mother, Rachel Ward, and her daughter, Jessica Ward. Tamara Collins; survived by her son, Eric Collins," Vendett added.

 _In another part of the forest; Raf's Perspective_

Raf never intended for this to happen.

He had been playing a video game with Bee when Ratchet sent him out on a scouting mission. Knowing that Ratchet would want some peace and quiet, evident by how he started to work on his project with tools whirring loud, he decided to start doing his homework. That's when he realized that he left his backpack inside of Bee.

It was a rare thing for the pre-teen to leave his belongings inside of his guardian but he had been so eager to spend the Saturday alone with his friend that he had pushed school into the back of his mind, hence forgetting his backpack. It wouldn't have been problem except for two things; 1) he had an essay due for English and he wanted to finish it today so he could look it over the next day for errors and 2) his family was celebrating a family friend's birthday tomorrow evening and his mother would not be please if he still had too much work to do. So it was imperative that he get his assignments.

Unfortunately, he had just realized the issue as Bumblebee already disappeared inside the Groundbridge. Focused only on getting his belongings from his friend, Raf ran after his brother-figure, calling out his name but receiving no answer. However, luck was not on his side today. When he finally arrived in the area Bee had been transported to, he saw no sight of the scout. Worse yet, the Groundbridge had closed.

Raf looked around. Ratchet said that he was bridging Bee to one of Japan's forests. As predicted, trees and foliage were everywhere, almost blocking out the little bit sun that managed to shine through the slight clouds above. There was the soft chittering of birds and wind flowing through the leaves. In spite of the beauty of the woods, the computer protégé felt scared. The last time he had been in a wooded area was when he was eight and his family was camping with some relatives. It didn't even last long because his older cousin's wife had gone into labor with their first baby.

The young high school student began calling, "Bee! Where are you?! Bee!"

He received no answer.

Raf gulped as he hastily pulled out his phone. However, the one bar he had was flickering. He began moving around hurriedly, desperately trying to get a signal. He tried for several minutes until he managed to find a spot where the bar stabilized and, better yet, added a second bar. Feeling hopeful, he began to call his friend.

That's when he heard the rustling of leaves and large, thudding steps.

Stopping what he was doing in surprise, the brunette swiveled around, looking for the source of the noise.

Adjusting his glasses shakily, he called out, "H-Hello? Bee? Is that you?"

More rustling and thudding steps were heard.

"Bee, if that's you, I left my backpack in your front seat and I need it to do homework," Raf called out, somehow calming himself by assuming the noise meant his guardian was nearby.

Still, more rustling and steps.

"Bee, I am serious!" the pre-teen shouted, the assumption helping his annoyance replace his fear.

The rustling and thudding stopped.

The brunette continued looking around in a panic. That was, until his eyes rested on a large, unidentified shape a few feet away.

Apprehensively, Raf took a few steps towards it, whispering, "Bee?"

The large form turned around. Eyes that seemed to glow red glowered down at him as a rows of white, sharp teeth bared in a snarl at the brunette.

 _Meanwhile; Zettabyte's Perspective_

"Was today a good day for you guys?" the mechling asked gently with a smile.

"Yes!" they chorused in unison with big smiles of their own.

"That's really good to hear," the mechling stated happily as they continued to stroll through the woods peacefully.

It was almost time for the children's departure and Zetta thought that they would go for a walk through the forest before going to the Ghost Zone.

"Is Riversong going to babysit us again soon?" Vendett asked, the conversation going back to a subject that was less of an adult tone, his servo holding Jinx's.

"I'm sure she will when she feels better," Zettabyte said reassuringly, one servo holding Vendett's while the other was patting helping support the papoose where Clovercharm was drifting off in.

"But you'll also babysit us from time to time, right?" the middle child asked hopefully, his tone making something within the neutral youth's spark twinge.

He didn't know how he should answer. Of course he had great pleasure in babysitting them but he wasn't sure what their parents would say. Oh, he wasn't worried about them thinking he was irresponsible or untrustworthy. But he knew that Jadeluck and Karmaro would feel better with a more familiar and experienced sitter. And he wasn't so sure that he would be able to handle such responsibility again if given the chance. In spite of how well today went, the negative voice inside him brushed it off as just beginner's luck.

Just as he was about to give them a response, he noticed that they stopped walking and were staring at something at the ground. He followed their gaze and what he saw triggered something that was a combination shock and apprehension.

On the ground was a paw print. Judging by the shape and number of toes, it was obviously a wolf but it was huge, about the same size as one of Zetta's own footprint. It also seemed deeper, signaling that the creature that made it had a heavy body mass akin to a Cybertronian's. When the Cybertronian teen looked at his charges, he saw that their expressions were of terror.

"Vendett? Jinx? Guys, what's wrong?" the mechling asked, kneeling down to their level, struggling to keep calm.

That's when he realized it. They were no longer staring at the imprint. They were staring at something ahead. Again, he followed their gazes. What he saw made his processor and spark freeze up in horror.

His heightened sight allowed him to see a large wolf-like creature that was nearly the size of semi-truck. It had dark beige fur and in a few places the fur was an indescribable dark color. Its pupils were a blood red and its teeth, white as bone, were bared in a ferocious snarl. Its ears were laid back against its head in rage. But that was not what made ice crawl up his spinal strut.

It was _who_ the wild canine was snarling at.

Raf was cornered against a fallen tree with large rocks around it. Even with the fetal position and his face covered by his arms and knees, Zetta recognized the spiky brown hair and orange vest.

"It's Amoru," Jinx whimpered fearfully.

" _That's_ Amoru?!" the halfa couldn't help but exclaim in a whisper.

Faceplates twisting into what could only be described as a childish attempt at a snarl, Vendett spat, "Let me at him!"

Quickly, Zetta grabbed the eldest child's arm and pulled him back while sternly saying, "Vendett, listen to me. I'm gonna open a portal to the Ghost Zone. I need you to take your little brother and sister and go find your parents and Nephilus. Tell them what's going on, okay?"

Vendett reluctantly nodded as his babysitter handed him his sister and his little brother grabbed his servo.

"But what are you gonna do?" Jinx asked with worry.

Turning his gauntlet, Zettabyte stated coolly, "I'm gonna go help a friend."

 _Third Person Perspective_

The small pre-teen curled tighter into a ball as the predator drew closer, growling as his fangs glistened in the faint sunlight. Just as the canine spirit was about to lunge, something heavy knocked into his side, dazing him.

Zettabyte, now Phantom Z, glowered at the wolf before turning to Raf who was now uncurling, and asking, "Are you alright?"

Raf's shakened brown orbs looked into the halfa's uncovered bright green optics and he gapped at the porcelain white and black Cybertronian.

"Yeah," came the brunette's single word reply.

"Good," the Cybertronian teen said with a smile.

But it didn't last.

They both turned to see Amoru shakily getting back up. He let out a rumbling growl before transforming. Well, transforming in his _own_ way. If one had to describe it, it would be like in a fantasy movie or a fairy tale cartoon where a shape shifting character would slowly lose revert out of their animal appearance, slowly losing their animalistic facial aspects while their limbs contorted into that of a two-legged, two-handed being.

In less than half a minute, the wolf was gone and in its place was a mechling just a couple of years older than the neutral youth. He was a bit shorter than Riversong but not by much. He had a lithe build, his armor the same color as his wolf fur. A bundle of hair-like fur sat on top of his helm and covered a portion of his faceplates and forehelm. Clawed servos were clenched into fists and equally sharp looking pedes were stamped firmly into the ground. His optics remained a blood red and were now narrowed in anger and hate. He continued baring his sharp denta at the halfa and as his ears remained flat against his helm. The fur that decorated the area around his neck and upper chassis was bristled in ire.

"Run," the phantom whispered to the young human as he stood his ground and narrowed in his optics in challenge at the wolf bot.

Raf didn't hesitate to obey the mechling as he ran away from the fight.

"So, you're Amoru," Zetta stated coolly.

"And you're the new half-breed," Amoru snapped cruelly.

"It's _halfa,_ dog breath," the neutral youth hissed.

"I am a wolf!" the wolf bot growled.

"A wolf who's been disowned by his own pack because he's a bully and a psycho who thinks he's so big, brave, and bad but is really just a naughty, unruly puppy who is so cowardly that he only attacks the innocent and helpless," the Cybertronian teen shot back coldly.

"You'll regret saying that you freak of nature!" the spirit roared, as he prepared to attack.

"We'll see who regrets what, mutt," the halfa smirked, putting his visor back over his optics and making a "come at me" gesture.

Letting out a hateful sound that was between a growl and a snarl, Amoru lunged. Zetta tackled him, turning the both of them intangible.

First things first; Zetta had to get his opponent to a more open area to fight as not to cause damage.

 _Meanwhile; Raf's Perspective_

Raf didn't stop running until he caught sight of Bumblebee in his car mode.

"Bee!" he screamed as soon as he was in audio shot of the golden yellow and black mechling.

Transforming into his bi-pedal mode, the scout held out his servo to his charge as he whirred in confusion and surprise, **[Raf? What are you doing here?]**

"I followed you here to get my backpack!" the pre-teen said quickly. "But that's not what's important! Some bot needs help!"

 **[What?!]** the young Autobot chirred, now both confused and concerned. **[Who does?]**

"Some wolf bot tried to attack me and this black and white bot came out of nowhere and saved me!" the brunette exclaimed.

 **[Did he have green optics and a green visor?!]** the boy's guardian gasped.

"Yes!" the young human cried.

 **[Phantom Z…]** Bumblebee whispered loud enough for Raf to hear. **[Raf, where is he?!]**

"He's fighting the wolf bot that tried to attack me! We gotta go help him!" the computer protégé pleaded shrilly.

Nodding, Bee transformed and oened his car doors to allow Raf in. As soon as his charge was safely buckled in, he sped off in the direction he saw his partner come from.

 **[Bumblebee to base. We have a hostile in the eastern area of the Beech Tree Forest of Shirakami Sanchi. Phantom Z is fighting him right now as we speak!]** he beeped frantically into his comm. link.

 _Meanwhile; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte snarled as he landed a punch to Amoru's face.

Zetta had managed to get the wolf bot to an open grassy area with no humans in sight. The trees surrounded them in a lumpy circle and a few small boulders were scattered around them. In other words, a perfect area to battle in.

The halfa held his side. While the metal wasn't broken, he felt a pain that signaled something had been dislocated or internally banged up. His armor had scratches but thankfully, they had stopped bleeding his ecto-energon and had already started clotting, a result of his fast healing. Luckily, his visor had successfully prevented his opponent from clawing out his optics or kicking dirt into them. Using the back of his free servo, he wiped away dried ecto-energon and dirt from his mouth area.

Amoru had transformed from bot to wolf and back several times. That had stopped when Cybertronian teen had broken his left arm and hit his knee with swipe of a whip of ecto-energy. He was covered with scratches as well and had a long gash across his face. The spirit was panting in exhaustion. Nephilus wasn't lying; being banned from his pack had weakened Amoru.

"Give up?" the beige mechling asked coldly.

"Never," the neutral youth hissed acidly.

Suddenly, they both turned their helms when they heard the roar of engines. Before either could react, a muscle car burst out from the trees. Skidding to a halt, Raf stepped out. In no time, Team Prime's scout transformed into bot mode and aimed his cannons at the spirit.

 **[Hold it right there flea bag!]** the scout snapped.

Before the neutral youth had a chance to hold Amoru back, the beige mechling lunged at the golden yellow and black Autobot. Bumblebee fired a Energon blast. While it did knock the wolf bot back a few feet, he kept charging at the new challenger. Head-butting the youngest member of Team Prime in the abdominal area, he proceeded to try to rip out the scout's throat, eliciting a frantic whirr from Bee.

"Bumblebee!" Raf screamed in terror.

Energon boiling in newfound rage, Zetta threw himself at the spirit, growling, "Hey! Your fight is with me, not them you sorry excuse for a _Canis Lupus_!"

His pulling on the crazed mechling combined with the young Autobot's pushing efforts did indeed remove Amoru's hold from the scout. Throwing the beige mechling opposite of them, the halfa helped his unofficial back up back onto his pedes. The preteen human immediately ran to his guardian's side.

"Are you alright?" "Phantom Z" asked calmly though with a small hint of worry.

 **[I will be once we take Cujo over there down,]** Bee gasped as he tried to catch his intakes.

Amoru snarled in loathing as he shakily got back into a fighting stance. Suddenly, a Groundbridge opened behind them. No sooner had it opened did the Autobot leader and his two soldiers rush out of it, weapons out.

"Stand down you…" Bulkhead trailed off, unsure what to make of the wolf bot before him.

"Amoru," the porcelain white and black mechling shortly informed the moss colored mech.

"Yeah, that!" the Wrecker nodded earnestly.

Rolling his optics behind his visor and stifling a groan, Zettabyte spoke calmly to Amoru, "Give up. Before this ends badly."

He was only presented with a snarl of fury. Zetta and the Autobots prepared to attack. But before they could do anything, a flash of black and cobalt came from the trees. A cloaked bot with a wicked looking scythe rammed into the beige mechling. Amoru was sent flying, letting out a yelp of pain and surprise. When the young spirit tried to get up, he was met with the bladed end of the scythe just centimeters from his optics.

There was silence for a moment. The only thing that was heard was Bulkhead doing the Cybertronian equivalent of a nervous gulping.

"Leave," Nephilus snarled darkly. "Before I do what your _former_ pack's Alpha was too merciful to do herself. And I don't think she or anyone will object."

Without hesitation, Amoru shakily got up and darted into the woods, opposite of the direction the cloaked mech had come from. Nonchalantly brushing dirt off his cloak, Nephilus looked at his pupil. He offered something that was a twist between a small nod and a cock of the helm before disappearing back the way he came. While the Autobots didn't understand the gesture, the neutral youth had been training with the cobalt mech long enough to know what it meant.

Taking a few steps away from the group, he transformed, ignoring the pain, and prepared to leave himself.

"Wait!" Raf cried out.

Still in vehicle form, "Phantom Z" turned around to face the young brunette.

"I just wanted to say thank you," the computer protégé breathed sincerely. "And tell your friend I said thank you too."

"It was nothing. Just be careful next time. You never know what might happen," the halfa said humbly. "And I will."

"We owe you a great debt," Optimus said gratefully. "You helped protect one of our human allies."

"Just standing up for the innocent. All life is valuable," came the cool reply.

All the Prime did was nod and offer a hum of understanding and approval.

Before anything else could be said, the halfa drove off.

 _At the Jasper Emergency Hospital 2 and a half hours later; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha sighed in exhaustion as she sat on the chair that Sawyer pulled out for her. They were currently sitting on chairs in the front of the hospital with some a nearly empty plate of cookies and half empty drink cups between them. Both were in the hospital in spite of already having donated blood. The two were waiting patiently for their friends and their little siblings. They were relaxing as they watched the last of the donors leave with their cookies and beverages while the helpers in charge of getting the blood finished putting away the last of the blood pouches.

"How are you doing Sasha?" Sawyer asked with concern in his voice though a bit tired himself for donating much blood.

"Fine. Just tired and sore. And need of some of the blood drive cookies," the Goth answered, her left hand brushing the bandage on her right arm where the nurses had taken blood.

The excitement from the events at the playground and Eric's shocking revelations combined with the blood she donated had left the raven-haired girl physically tired but the metaphorical gears in her brain working over time. If it weren't for the bubbly attitudes of Claudia and Manuel and the thanks and praises from their big sisters, she wasn't sure if she would have made it.

Biting into a red velvet white chocolate chip cookie and chasing the sweet treat down with some milk, the nature-lover sighed in content, "At least we donated to a good cause. And the cookies add to its worth."

"Amen," the soccer player agreed with a grin.

At that moment, they both heard the pitter patter of small feet. Both turned to see the excited faces of their friends' little siblings rushing towards them. They looked pretty upbeat about something.

"Hey, what's up?" the African American teen asked playfully.

"Addie said to come get you guys," Manuel giggled.

"She and Colette have a surprise for everybody," Claudia added.

Curious, the two teens quickly finished theirs drinks and treats before following the two young children. The two youngsters were giggling, trying to keep themselves from bursting into laughter or telling the two older youths what was going on. In front of them were the helpers for the blood donation who also seemed to be walking in the same direction they were.

"Here we are!" the dark-haired girl said in a sing song voice as they arrived at double doors of the hospital cafeteria. "Come on! Everybody's waiting!"

Sharing confused and curious looks, Sawyer and Sasha pushed open the doors. Inside, all the nurses, doctors, and helpers, including Jack, June, Angelo, and Eric, were crowded around the table. Five foil wrapped, rectangular packages sat on top of said table. The most notable thing was that Adalia and Colette were in the front of the crowd, smiling happily.

"Over here!" Colette called out and waved to her two friends as soon as she spotted them.

"What's going on?" the Goth couldn't help but ask, her curiosity intensifying.

Exchanging grins, the Latina and French-speaker proceeded to unwrap the packages. The two teens and other residents in the room gapped in delight. There were three cheesecakes and two cakes. The first two cheesecakes had red swirls in them while the third had purplish swirls. The first cake was covered in white buttercream frosting and had a red cross made of crumbs in the center while the other had a golden crumble topping.

"We made cakes for the staff to celebrate the success of the blood drive," Adalia explained. "We made two raspberry white chocolate cheesecakes and a blackberry cheesecake for you Sasha, since that's your favorite berry and to thank you for babysitting. The buttercream frosted one is red velvet because a few of the staff are more fond of it. And the last is an apple crumb cake for Ms. Darby since she's lactose intolerant."

"These look great!" the raven-haired girl grinned.

"Not to mention scrumptious!" the soccer-player added.

"You girls are really too kind," one of the male doctors said.

"It's nothing. It's all for a good cause," Adalia stated, winking at her nature-lover friend with a sincere smile to which Sasha returned.

Immediately, Colette began cutting slices as Manuel and Claudia helped hand out forks and plates. The Goth grinned as the French-speaker served her a perfect square piece of the blackberry cheesecake. Cutting into it with her fork and lifting the piece, Sasha took a bite. She shuddered in pleasure at how sweet and tangy it was. The creamy texture of the cheese part went incredibly well with the crust.

The raven-haired girl looked around her. Everyone was enjoying the desserts as much as she was. Some were savoring their first piece still while others were getting seconds. Even Eric, who had been in a sullen mood after telling Sasha his past, seemed to be a bit more content thanks to the red velvet cake he was consuming. Suddenly, the nature-lover felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to bee face-to-face with Jack.

"What's up?" she asked.

"You're not gonna believe this," the onyx-haired teen whispered with disbelief. "Raf had an encounter with Phantom Z!"

Had Sasha still had a piece of cheesecake in her mouth, she would have choked.

"Excuse me?" she asked in false confusion.

"Oh, that's right, we haven't mentioned him yet," the junior winced apologetically. "He's this mysterious bot who the bots have been encountering for a few weeks. He's barely spoken to them even though he's almost always there wherever they go on Earth, excluding their base of course. I called Raf a few minutes ago and that's when he told me that Phantom Z beat up some wolf bot that tried to hurt him when he accidentally got lost in a forest in Japan after following Bee. And get this; some cloaked bot came in and helped send the wolf bot running."

Sasha could only stare at him with wide eyes and her mouth agape.

After a moment, she shook herself out of it and said with an awkward grin, "Well it's good thing I got sugar in my system. Excuse me, I gotta make a phone call to Zetta."

 _In the Ghost Zone in Terrana's Garden; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte sighed as he laid on the marble slab that was covered by a soft powder blue blanket.

His injuries which were more severe, like the damage that was causing the stinging pain in his side, and hadn't healed immediately were covered in a minty green substance, courtesy of Terrana. It soothed the soreness of the scratches and cuts, almost to the point where it made him groggy. The blanket had been warmed by some sort of thermal plants and had the smell of lemon and vanilla. On the ground near him was an empty bowl which had held a broth of spices, herbs, and Nectar that the halfa had thirstily drank in three gulps.

Nephilus had stayed by his side the whole time the spirit of nature had been patching him up before he left. The neutral youth wasn't sure where his teacher had gone but he had a good idea that Riversong was involved. He worried about how the wolf femme would react to finding out what Amoru tried to do. His spark twisted in pity at the idea.

"Zettabyte?"

The mechling's helm shot up when he heard a familiar voice.

There in front of him were Karmaro and Jadeluck. He immediately looked down, unable to stare at their faceplates for fear of seeing disappointment or anger. He tried to sit up but winced at the stinging protest from his lax body and limbs.

"Easy! Don't get up if you're still sore," the spirit of vengeance warned in a gentle tone.

The mechling obeyed, but still avoided looking up at them.

The silence lasted for a moment.

"How are Clovercharm, Vendett, and Jinx?" he asked carefully.

"They're fine," the mother reassured softly.

"Good, I'm glad…I'm sorry. You must think I was irresponsible and immature for sending them back to the Ghost Zone alone just to battle Amoru," the Cybertronian teen stated with shame.

He blinked in surprise as two warm, gentle servos cupped his face and lifted his helm. He was met with two soft powder blue optics.

"No we don't. In fact, we think you were very responsible and brave to get our children out of danger before going to protect an innocent from that mongrel," Jadeluck replied with a grateful and loving smile.

"By going out of the way to protect all innocents within your reach, you have proved to us that we couldn't have chosen a better second sitter," Karmaro said with a grin. "We're very proud of you."

Zettabyte was sure, in that moment, that he could have hugged them if it weren't for his injuries.

"Thank you," he said with a smile of gratitude in his tone and confidence in his spark which heightened as they smiled back.

That's when his comm. pinged.

Making a "hold on a moment" gesture, he answered, "Hello?"

" **Zetta, it's Sasha! Are you okay?! Jack told me that you had saved Raf from some wolf bot!"** came his partner's worried reply.

"I'm alright. A bit dented and scratched up but I'll survive," the halfa reassured his friend gently.

" **Thank goodness,"** came her relieved reply.

"Enough about me, how was your day? Did babysitting and the blood drive go great?" he asked eagerly.

" **It went great! But before I tell you how my went, I wanna know how yours went. Besides the fighting the wolf bot incident,"** came his charge's friendly insistence.

Laughing, Zettabyte began, "Where do I start?"

Sorry how long it took to make this chapter. The is one more chapter to go. I'm sorry that this one was short but I promise that the next will be longer. If there is anything in this that offends someone, I apologize.

Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Epilogue-Surprises Unexpected

Chapter 5: Epilogue-Surprises Unexpected

All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.

 _*blah*_ -writing

 _At Sasha's house; Sasha's Perspective_

Sasha sighed in relaxation. It was Sunday and half past noon. She sat on the large couch in the family room while she read _Pet Sematary_ by Stephen King. In her lap was Midnight, calmly washing her face as the raven-haired girl petted her silky, dark fur. The Goth wore a black spaghetti-strap top with lavender and white roses on the front and icy blue shorts. On the coffee table in front of her was a leftover piece of blackberry cheesecake, her laptop, her phone, and a small bowl of treat for the female feline.

Sawyer and his grandmother had gone to help some family friends with housework. Adalia had gone out to the movies with her family while Colette was helping her great aunt plan the candy shop's Monday specials. The nature-lover had just finished emailing her aunt and uncle and web-chatting with her friends and family back home. Zettabyte was on the _Nemesis_ , working on his latest invention, having only come home to show Sasha that he was alright and where he would be. She didn't mind to be honest. Lazy, quiet days like this allowed her time to rest and enjoy simple activities.

Just as she was about to take another bite of the cheesecake, she heard the doorbell ring. Midnight jumped off the Goth's lap as she got up and went to answer the door. She was surprised to see that it was Jack.

"Hey Jack, what's up?" she asked politely as Midnight rubbed against her ankle.

"Nothing much. I just came by to give you this," the onyx-haired boy explained as he pulled out a small white letter. "It's from Eric."

Sasha stared in shock as she took it from her classmate, "Do you know what it says?"

"I haven't looked at it so no," Jack explained as he knelt down to pet the feline.

Carefully opening the letter, Sasha read the casual handwriting.

 _*Dear Sasha,_

 _I want to say thank you. After you left yesterday, I heard the two kids you were looking after tell their sisters how good you were with them. People use to say that when my mother was a teen, she couldn't even be trusted to hold a baby correctly. Perhaps, I am wrong about to doubt all female caretakers. Plus, you were the first person I told my past to since I came here. In a way, you got me to open up. So, thank you forthat._

 _P.S. I think I'm gonna see that therapist my college roommate recommended._

 _Sincerely, Eric._

By the time she was finished reading, the nature-lover had a gentle, sincere smile on her face.

"What did it say?" the junior asked as he stood back up.

"Just a thank you note," the raven-haired girl responded.

 _At the Autobot base; Third Person Perspective_

"So you're saying that this bot had the ability to transform from an Earth animal to a mechling?" Ratchet asked incredulously.

 **[Well I didn't see it but Raf did!]** the scout insisted.

"Are we dealing with a beast former?" Arcee asked urgently.

"It is possible. They scattered to the cosmos when Cybertron fell dark. I have heard rumors that most of the Decepticon prisoners on Autobot prison ships were mostly beast-formers," Optimus claimed knowledgeably.

"Though the reason that could is because Sentinel categorized beast-formers as partially organic because of the qualities. That could be one of the reasons," the medic sniffed. "Sentinel labeled them as deviants so they act that way. Self-fulfilling prophecy if I ever saw it."

"That doesn't explain why this one didn't have an insignia on him. Or why he hadn't called for reinforcements if he was a Con," the femme pointed out.

 **[He's probably a rogue]** Bee stated simply.

"A rogue who has somehow avoided our detection and that of the human government?" Ratchet quizzed doubtfully.

 **[Phantom Z managed to do it!]** the golden yellow and black mechling persisted.

Optimus looked at his team's Wrecker and asked, "Bulkhead, what is your opinion."

The moss-colored mech was leaning against the wall, arms folded and helm down.

"Bulkhead," the Prime said again, louder and just a bit harder this time.

That got the former construction bot's attention as he finally looked up, "What? I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"We talking about yesterday's events," the larger mech explained.

"Oh, right. That," Bulkhead said weakly.

"Are you alright?" Optimus rumbled.

"I'm fine. Just wasn't focused on the conversation is all," the brawler said firmly with a nod.

He didn't dare tell them what the real reason was. He didn't dare tell them that the cloaked mech he saw was the same one that had appeared in his room a few weeks back and had threatened him.

 **[Optimus, we need Phantom Z on our team as much as we need Zetta!]** the youngest of the Autobot team said pleadingly.

Arcee felt her spark ping at the mention of her son.

"I am aware of that Bumblebee. But we cannot force either to be a part of our faction," the Autobot leader said firmly. "The best we can do is bring it up whenever we see them…and hope that they may consider it."

 _On the Nemesis 3 hours later; Zettabyte's Perspective_

Zettabyte sighed as he finished the invention he had been working on.

That morning he had left the Ghost Zone and visited Sasha before asking Soundwave to bridge him onto the _Nemesis_. As usual, the soldiers and commanders, excluding the TIC, the Decepticon leader, and the spider femme, had flocked the neutral youth to see how he was doing. The first several minutes of him being on the ship consisted of the usual questions about his emotional, mental, and physical welfare, hugs from Breakdown and the more outgoing drones, offerings of sustenance, and then one of them volunteering to walk him back to his room before wishing him a good day.

While it was an unusual contrast to their brutality they were well known for, the halfa didn't mind. It reminded him of his Amma's loving demeanor.

Looking at his invention, a large structure that resembled a boomerang but had wings that were a bit narrowed, sharp angles, and it was a silvery color with metallic blue and dark violet trims.

"The Electro-Energon Seeker. Throw it and wait a few moments. When it comes back, it will tell you of all the nearby Energon spots it detected during its flight," the Cybertronian teen said out loud to himself.

Pressing a hidden button on the elbow, the invention changed. It transformed into a gun like structure with a claw for a muzzle that emitted showed a line of electrifying energy. It transformed again into a bo staff just a bit longer than his arm with blades at each end.

"And when threatened, it becomes a handy weapon," Zettabyte finished, thinking over the lethal additions he made to his project today.

The mechling was a bit surprised with himself. He hadn't thought that he could ever make a weapon. But the incident yesterday, seeing an innocent at the mercy of a violent being, made him realize that, sadly, there would be times that he had to defend himself and those he cared about. Yet he made a solemn promise to himself not to use such violence unless there was no other option. Though he dreaded the day such a promise would need to be broken.

Sighing as the bo staff transformed back into its original form, he placed it on his desk. However, in doing so, he knocked his screwdriver off the desk which rolled across the floor, away from the desk. A bit annoyed, Zetta got up to retrieve it.

That's when he saw it.

The light purple outline of a compartment on the wall.

Forgetting his tool momentarily, the neutral youth proceeded to see if he could open the compartment which was the size of a large Energon cube but more rectangular. After several moments of picking and scratching the outline, the halfa found a button. Pressing it, the compartment shot open, nearly making Zetta jump.

Looking inside, he reached in and pulled out…a cloth.

This was a serious surprise, considering that the only known cloth material on Cybertron were Cybertronian towels, rags for waxing and cleaning, and thermal blankets. But this one was different.

It was a bit more stretchable and while it felt a bit less soft than the known cloth products of Cybertron, it was not rough or uncomfortable. It had a dark silver hue to it, showing that it did have some sort of metallic make up to it, and was thin but not too much. Zetta looked inside to find several rolls of the unusual fabric. Feeling eager and curious, he began pulling out the rolls. It was then that he noticed it.

A small datapad beneath the rolls.

Intrigued even more, the Cybertronian teen grabbed the datapad, turned it on and began reading it. In Cybertronian language, in a penmanship Zetta was unfamiliar with, it showed all the components that made up the fabric. Some of the materials, like Cryocium, was well-known and not too hard to come by, especially for the nobles who wanted the best frozen Energon goods credits could buy, but others, like Thermatanium, was little less well-known and more used for less ritzy things and more urgent details like ship building or stabilizing areas near the Smelting Pits. Under that was what looked to be a note from whoever hid the material.

In Cybertronian glyphs, it read;

 _*While this material can withstand the coldest or hottest of temperatures, it would seem that it can only maintain such traits in this flimsy state that can be torn by the sharpest blade. Most likely the substance will require more components so it can be made into durable strong armor. But it's an adequate start.*_

And that's where it ended.

The halfa checked the datapad all over to see if there was _some_ hint of the name of whoever created the material but he found none.

Turning back to the fabric, Zetta continued to observe it, rubbing the material through his digits and even bringing it to the light to get a better look. Upon touching the light, it gave a somewhat luminescent light.

"Looks like I found a real treasure," he breathed with a smile. "Now to put it to some good use."

Sorry for the long wait! I was wracking my brain about how to finish off the fic so I settled for this. But rest assure, the next fic will be longer and will have as fast updates as I can manage. And as you can see, there were some references from TF RID 2015. I made up Cryocium as a sister substance to Thermatanium. While Thermatanium is used for hot temperatures, Cryocium is used to regulate the cold.

Once again, haters will be ignore and flamers will be flamed.

Everyone else, Happy Reading!


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